New, Interesting, and Unusual
by Chibikawa
Summary: A newpaper reporter is at risk of losing her job until three comets appear. Little does anyone know that these comets contain odd creatures that'll somehow save their world. Rate T for violence and language. Last chapter up!
1. Prologue: New York City

**New, Interesting, and Unusual **

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any Klonoa characters… The others are mine, though.

On a note, I _live_ in New York. Maybe not New York City, but still don't bug me about the way I describe it. I'm purposely making it seem like a bad place to fit this story…

Plus, I realize that this is the second Klonoa fic to relate the Klonoa universe to the human universe. I already asked Aura and she said it was fine.

* * *

**Prologue: New York City**

It was a typical afternoon in the typical city of New York. Seagull squawked loudly over the dirty sea, as if yelling at the humans for making it that way. Car horns honked repeatedly down the busy highways. Old, tall buildings towered over everything.

Formally dressed people strode with pride down the sidewalks. They passed filthy homeless people without one glance. Police cars sped down the roads, their sirens blasting as high as they could.

No one cared.

Everyone walked or drove along with only their personal lives in mind. No one cared for the half-starved man in the alleyway. No one cared for the boy being bullied harshly by older kids. No one cared for the dog that was just hit by a car.

This was New York City.

Someone suddenly made a wolf-whistle. High heels clacked against the cement sidewalks with every elegant step the woman took. Men were eyeing her with perverted interest. She ignored them.

The woman was carrying a suitcase and was in a formal uniform. Her brown hair, probably long when out, was tied up in a knot behind her head. She wore glasses, making her look older than she was. Her appearance was very mature, though she was probably still in her early twenties.

The woman's mind was filled to the brim with that morning's events. She was a newspaper reporter. And she was at risk of losing her job.

She remembered the last words her boss said to her that day: "Find me a new story! No robberies, no car chases, no murders—we've already seen that! The people don't want that anymore. It's not interesting. Find me an unusual, interesting story by the end of the week—or you're fired!!"

The woman sighed. It was Friday. How could she possibly find a story like that in two days?

That night the woman stared outside the window of her apartment. Angry cats yowled below and a man yelled at them to shut up. Something was thrown and the cats shrieked and then were silent. But, after a few moments, then cats were yowling again.

"'Persistent cats refuse to shut up'? No… that's stupid. I'm getting desperate," the woman said quietly. She stood up. "I'm gonna lose my job for sure… How'll I possibly find a new… interesting… unusual story by Sunday? Everything that happens here is the same. The same old robberies; the same old murders; the same old car chases; the same old everything!"

"Hey, shut up!"

The woman looked below her, not sure if the man was yelling at her or the cats again. Something larger was thrown at the garbage cans below and the cats scattered, screeching. The woman sighed and looked up at the starry night sky.

"'Night sky stays beautiful despite constant human pollution'… if only people cared about that."

The woman gripped the windowsill tightly. "Come on… Send me a sign or _something_!" There was long silence. "Guess I outta start looking in the newspaper for jobs…"

The woman started to turn around, but a light behind her stopped her. She turned back toward her window and looked out. Her eyes widened. Toward the sea were three streaks of light. They looked like shooting stars, or small comets.

One was blue, one was red, and one was orange. They were slowly making their way to the sea below them. The woman suddenly twitched. She almost hit her head on the window as she suddenly turned around and searched for her camera.

When she found it, she ran back to the window and took several pictures. After a moment, the comets reached the water and were suddenly gone. The light dimmed back to the normal dark blue and the sounds of New York City came alive again.

The woman lowered her camera slowly, still staring at where the comets had just been. "That's… certainly… something," she said slowly, still caught in awe. She shook her head, recovering herself. Now it was time to work. She'd think up a story for this if it took her all night!

---

At the shore of the sea, black and white waves slapped up faster than usual, as if the sudden event had alarmed them. But they soon calmed down and returned to their normal pace.

One strong wave left a black, sodden figure on the cold sand. It lay, dead or just unconscious, unmoving as the waves pushed ahead of it and back behind it again. In its tightly gripped hand was a large ring. Its emerald gem shone brightly for a moment, but then dimmed and went out.

No one seemed to notice.

* * *

Yes, it's short. I know. It's a prologue. The other chapters will be longer. 

Anyway, as you can see, this is much deeper and more descriptive than the Wizard of Moo. Obviously. That's a parody and this is an actual story. But this is also much more descriptive than my upcoming fanfic later…

Anyway, don't expect the first chapter until the Wizard of Moo is finished. I just wanted to give you all taste of what I'm working on next.


	2. Chapter 1: Weird Creatures

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any Klonoa characters… The others are mine, though.

* * *

**Chapter 1: Weird Creatures **

"So?"

"What do you mean 'so?'"

"I mean 'so what.' Big deal. A few colorful rocks fell from the sky. I mean—these aren't even good photos. They could be fake."

"Fake?! But I took these last night. I remember—it definitely happened. Just—Just asked anyone!"

A large man sitting behind a chair motioned for a boy carrying a stack of newspapers to come over. "Sir?" The boy asked. "Did you see, last night, three comets?"

"No, sir. I didn't," the boy replied, looking confused. "But it must've been midnight, or something! You were probably sleeping!" The brown haired woman quickly defended.

The boy didn't deny this. The large man dismissed him with a wave of his hand and the boy left. "Listen, Madison, I don't _want_ to fire you. But we're losing money. I need people with more… creative minds," the man said.

"Creative? Are you saying you want people who can lie to the public?" The woman asked. "Not 'lie,' exactly. Just stretch the truth. Enough so that a boring story is interesting."

"It's lying."

"It's not!"

The woman seemed taken aback by the boss' sudden anger. "Don't think I _can't_ fire you just because you're the mayor's daughter, Nikki Madison! I can do whatever I want to my employees. Now…" he leaned over his desk, "get me an interesting story by Sunday. I don't care if the whole thing is a 'lie.' Just get it to me!"

The woman nodded slowly and left the office. She entered her own small office and sat at her chair, staring at the pictures she had taken the other night. There was no way it hadn't happened. She remembered it so clearly.

Nikki sighed for probably the fifth time that morning. Now what? She couldn't lie to the public. It was wrong. She put her hands on her face. She needed another sign.

---

The streets of New York City were at one of their busiest times of the day. School was just letting out. Buses drove slowly through traffic, stopping every now and then to drop off the excited children. They ran across the sidewalk and streets carelessly. It was, one would say, an accident waiting to happen.

A little girl carrying a lunchbox and a small backpack calmly, but cutely, walked out of a bus and headed for the street. She looked both ways before crossing. She was barely halfway across when a truck came turning from a corner and headed her way. The driver was listening to a blasting radio and clearly wasn't paying attention to much.

By the time he saw the small girl in front of his large truck, just stomping on the brakes wasn't going to save her. There was a loud screech and only a few people even bothered to look. The girl, just seeing what was happening, dropped her belongings and flinched.

There was a quick crash noise, but that was it. The girl, surprised that she was still standing, opened her eyes. She widened them and gaped at what she saw. A tall, round creature was standing between her and the truck.

The orange creature's arms were spread out and its back was facing the truck. It had large scales on its head, arms, and back. It was, humorously, wearing green overalls and black shoes.

The creature, overall, looked somewhat like a giant pangolin. It looked down at the girl after wincing for a second. "You okay, little girl?" It asked in a friendly, masculine voice. The girl nodded slowly. By now, everyone was staring.

"You should be very careful on the street." The creature smiled. It then turned around to look at the driver, who had been stunned with awe, but then twitched. "And you should be more careful, too. Especially when driving such a large vehicle," the creature lectured, still smiling.

The man only gapped. The pangolin-like man turned around again and looked at the girl. "Now, you should go home, little girl," it suggested. The girl suddenly smiled back and collected her belongings. "Thank you, mister armadillo man," she said quietly, and ran to the sidewalk.

The creature scratched his head. "Armadillo?" He simply shrugged it off and walk away from the truck. The people moved aside, staring at the round animal-man with incomprehension and doubt.

In another part of the city, a different awe-striking event had occurred. It was quite similar, actually. A woman had been driving a car and was just starting to pass a green light. Something suddenly ran in front of her car and she hit it.

Like before, no one really bothered to look until someone made an exclamation. _What_ had actually been hit was just as weird as the pangolin man.

"What is it?"

"Is it dead?"

"Is that a costume?"

"It looks like a video game character!"

"Yeah! It looks like something from Sonic the Hedgehog!"

"No! It looks like a Loony Toons character!"

"No way!"

"Poke it."

Most of the people muttering were children. A boy grabbed a random cane leaning against a wall and reached it out toward the laying creature. He poked its furry, black and white head quickly. When it made no reaction, he poked it again.

The boy poked the creature's face with the cane until it moved slightly. When he pulled away, it limply fell back into its original position. "Yep, it's dead," the boy said simply.

"You think that's a costume?" A woman asked. "If it is, it's really well designed. And it's well put together, too. Not a rip anywhere, despite all the blood," a man replied.

Blood was smeared on the bumper of the car that had hit the creature, soaked in the creature's blue shirt, and spread out on the road. No one tried to help it, too busy trying to figure out what it was.

The creature had ridiculously long ears and a somewhat feline-like face. It wore a light blue shirt and dark blue shorts, along with red sneakers. It had a short tail and wore yellow gloves on its human-like hands. A little ways away from its head lay a blue hat with a yellow symbol on it. In its hand was gripped a large ring, despite being unconscious or dead.

"Maybe it's an alien."

"An alien?!"

"We come in peace!"

"Cut that out!"

"Maybe we should take it off the road…"

"I ain't touchin' that thing!"

"Um…"

"Hey, it just moved!"

Everyone stared at the creature again. It was twitching slightly and its face tensed in pain. Slowly, it began opening its large eyes. Murmurs began all around the people circling the creature. It looked around slowly, before making an effort to get up.

"That is _no_ costume!" someone said loudly. "Watch out, it might bite!" a kid teased. "Bite?!" A woman replied fearfully. The black rabbit-cat creature lifted its body slightly with its arms, but they soon gave out underneath it and it fell in front of the woman.

She suddenly screamed, jumping back. The creature's eyes widened and it staggered back in alarm. "Did it bite me?!" the woman asked quickly. "I think it did!"

The murmurs became louder.

"It's some sort of mutant!"

"It's a monster!"

"Someone call the cops!"

"No, the pound! Call the pound!"

The creature, hunched over slightly, back up. "Get away from me!" Another woman suddenly screamed. The creature turned toward her and backed away. A man shoved out his foot and kicked it to its bloody side. "Back off!"

A woman found a broom and swiped it at the creature as if it were a raccoon. The crowd spread apart, almost everyone yelling. The creature immediately jumped to its feet like a human and found a space in the crowd to run off.

It ran on the sidewalk as fast as it could. Almost everyone it bumped into either gasped loudly or screamed. The creature was fast, though. It was out of sight in a matter of seconds. All it left behind was a trail of blood and a hat lying on the street.

---

"Nikki!!"

Nikki jerked up from her thoughtful, hunched over position at her desk. She jumped to her feet and made for her boss' office. She dared to wonder what he so urgently had to tell her. "S-Sir?"

"Look at the TV," her boss said simply, not looking at her. Nikki looked up at the flat-screen TV hanging on a top corner of the wall. She gaped. The TV reporter was speaking.

"I don't believe words can explain what is being shown here. According to this video, which was taken on a cell phone by a teenager nearby, a large animal-like man came out of nowhere and jumped between a moving truck and a little girl. The truck was forced to stop and was damaged a little. Then the strange man just walked off without saying a word… It is unconfirmed whether the man was wearing a costume… or if it was real."

"This is your chance, Madison. I want an interesting article about this today," the boss began, turning off the TV. "But, Mr. Smith, it's already—"

"Today!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Well, then, get to it. 'Large armadillo monster destroys truck,'" the boss said. "It looked more like a pangolin to me," Nikki replied quietly. "Pango-what? I don't even no what that is. It was an armadillo!"

Nikki didn't object. "I'll start on it now, sir," she said halfheartedly. She returned to her office without another word and sat at her desk. This wasn't the kind of sign she was looking for. "Well… beggars can't be choosers, huh, Nikki?" she asked herself.

---

Night time seemed to fall quickly that day; probably because of the early disappearance of the sun shielded by gray storm clouds. Rain in New York City never was a good thing, though it matched its gloomy atmosphere.

Cars ran along shinning streets under streetlamps. Headlights were blinding as they passed people walking hurriedly on the sidewalks. Sewer drains gurgled loudly as they greedily drank up all of the water rolling on the streets.

Currently, a figure stood near a streetlight. Its bright glare only struck the surface character's hood-covered face. A furry muzzle stuck out of the hood, though it was mostly hidden when the figure looked down.

A few teenaged girls huddled under one umbrella gazed at the character curiously. They were under the overhanging roof of a building, waiting for the bus, while the figure was standing in the rain at the corner of the sidewalk.

The stoplight above turned red and the cars stopped, but the figure never moved. One of the girls took notion to what looked like a black tuff of fur near the figure's rear. A pathetic joke amongst them made them giggle, but the mysteriousness of it silenced them again.

The figure still didn't move. Under its hood, two pale blue eyes stared at the street ahead of it. They were locked on something. On the street lay a sodden dark blue object. It spun around and floated in the air slightly with every car that past it. Eventually, a car drove right over it, plastering it to the ground. Its ends twitched slightly with the breeze, as if it were trying to get up again.

The figure stared at the object for the longest time. Finally, at possibly the worse time considering how long it had been standing there, it moved forward. The girls watched wide eyed as the figure ran onto the street just as a green light shone, grabbed the object off of the street, nearly got hit by a car, and ran down the sidewalk out of sight.

* * *

Poor Klonoa... Getting hit by a car and poked like road kill. He sure isn't getting a good start on this world. Pango seems to be taking it all nonchalantly, though. Guntz seems to be the only one being smart around here; lurking around only at night and hiding his face. Anyway, stay tuned for Chapter 2: Contact! 


	3. Chapter 2: Contact

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any Klonoa characters… The others are mine, though.

* * *

**Chapter 2: Contact **

"This is terrible."

The brown haired woman sighed as she strode down the dark sidewalk. "Good thing I always keep a spare umbrella at work," Nikki remarked, holding the shielding object over her head as rain slapped the top repeatedly. "I can't believe I wrote all of that junk today," she said to herself, sighing again.

"If only I could meet that pangolin man… or that other black cat creature I heard about. Everyone keeps saying they're violent… maybe it'd better if I didn't meet them. But of course I'd like to know why they're here."

She laughed slightly at herself. "Yeah, me and everyone else… Though, who knows? Being people, _New York City_ people, they might bluntly try to catch them and accidentally hurt them. Though it won't be accidental if my dad meant what he said today… What's he thinking…? Wanting to send people out to hunt these creatures? We don't even really know if they're real… Great, my life's really going swell now… I'm even talking to myself."

A loud _clank_ noise in a cornering alleyway made Nikki jump slightly. She stopped, staring ahead, wondering if she should take back wanting to meet the strange creatures. A cat ran out suddenly, yowling sharply. Nikki sighed. "Cats…"

She started walking again, but froze with a slight gasp when something else emerged from the alleyway. It was certainly no cat, though it looked somewhat like one. All she could see was part of its face as it peaked from the side of the building. From what she could tell, it was either a really tall animal or standing up like a human.

When the creature finally noticed her, it twitched in alarm and fled back in the alleyway. Nikki didn't move for a moment, not sure if she really saw what she just saw. She slowly walked forward and looked into the alleyway. She gasped impulsively again, though she wished she hadn't.

In the shadows, backed up against an old fence as much as possible, stood the creature. Nikki could barely point out any features it possessed with it being so dark. All she could easily see was its wide bright yellow eyes. It looked more terrified of her than she was of it.

Nikki remembered hearing about how a lot of wild animals are more afraid of humans than humans are of them. But this was no time to reminisce about some nature show. This obviously wasn't a normal animal; if it even was an animal at all.

Nikki snapped out of her thoughts when the creature moved. Its eyes shifted quickly, probably looking for a way to escape. "Oh, wait… Um…" Nikki tried to suppress her uneasiness and sound friendly. "I'm not… going to hurt you." Was that the right thing to say? Perhaps this creature wanted to hurt _her_—though it was unlikely considering its expression.

The creature blinked, and Nikki was beginning to wonder if it even understood her. Probably not; let alone could it probably talk. She wasn't sure what to say next. What _should_ she say to such an odd creature? Should she say anything at all?

The creature staggered slightly, closed its eyes tightly, and leaned against a building wall next to it, as if in pain. Nikki took a step forward and felt something wet under her heels. Looking down, she saw that red drops led in a trail to where the creature was now. The rain spread them out, making it look like there was more blood than there really was.

"Are you… Are you injured?" Nikki hesitated. The creature only opened its eyes and looked at her. She just noticed that it was breathing a bit heavily. "Here… let me… help you," she said slowly, reaching out her hand. She lowered her umbrella, realizing that it might've been scaring the creature.

It stared at her hand, as if not sure if it could trust it or not. An emerald light started shinning next to the creature. The light revealed only a little more of the creature's traits, and all Nikki could see was that it was furry and wore clothes like a human. The light seemed to be coming from a rather large ring in one of the creature's gloved hands.

It looked at the ring, as if it were telling it something. Eventually, the light dimmed and all was dark again. The creature looked back at Nikki and she twitched, not knowing what to expect. It straightened and took a small step toward her. Slowly, it reached out its hand and placed it on Nikki's.

For a moment, Nikki was baffled at how large the creature's hand was compared to its body, but she quickly came back to reality. "C-Come with me, then… Can… can you walk?" She felt stupid. It was like talking to someone who spoke a different language, but the creature nodded, hinting that perhaps it really could understand her.

Without another word, Nikki grasped the hand and spun around. The creature let it take it with her, though she sensed that it was having difficulty keeping up with her fast pace. Still, she couldn't slow down. She had to get to her apartment as fast as possible without passing any people. She also, despite the urge, avoided looking back to see exactly what the creature actually looked like.

They were both out of breath by the time they reached Nikki's apartment room. Luckily, little to no people strayed around on dark rainy nights in New York City. Nikki gulped as she slowly turned around. She almost forgot to breath. The creature was even odder than she had thought.

Nikki stared at its thick, damp black and white fur, long ears, and somewhat short tail. It wore clothes anyone could probably find in a shop. Currently, it was hunched over, either in pain or to catch its breath. It noticed her gaze. When Nikki saw it looking at her, she quickly looked away.

"Um… Oh, right! Your wound." With rapid steps, she made her way away from the doorway and into another room. "You can, um… sit on the couch if you like," she called back. Was she crazy?! A furry, wet creature like that on her couch? Not only that, but it was bleeding. Her couch would be ruined.

Still, Nikki had to be… "respectable." This creature, though it was a crazy idea, could've possibly come from another world. She wanted Earth to seem hospitable, right? Though it obviously hadn't come here with that wound already there.

Nikki absently searched for a wrap of bandages and any antibiotic creams. She had treated a few wounds before, for she had once hoped to become a doctor, but she had never treated a wound on an animal. Was it any different? She hoped not. Though the fur would be hard to deal with.

When Nikki found what she was looking for, she left the room and entered her living room. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the creature sitting on the carpeted floor, leaning against the side of her couch. Its eyes were closed and a hand was on its bloody side. For an anxious moment, Nikki wondered if it had just died, or something.

But when the creature opened it eyes and looked at her, she sighed. She walked over to it and kneeled beside it. She smiled, though it was hard. "I'm going to have to treat that wound. So if you could... um… take off your shirt…" Nikki paused, feeling very awkward.

But the creature acknowledged her words without protest. It took its wet, bloody, ripped shirt off, making Nikki a bit baffled all over again. It could understand her, that was obvious now. But could it speak? There was also the debate she was having with herself whether this creature was male or female. So far, she was leaning toward male.

The creature's wound was on its left side. It was a pretty big cut, if not deep. The rain had made it bleed less than it would have normally, luckily. Carefully, Nikki dabbed an antibiotic cream-covered cotton ball on the creature's wound. She kept an eye on its muzzle, though. What if it bit, like a lot of animals did when they were in pain?

The creature wasn't looking at her, though. Its eyes stared at nothing ahead, its mind elsewhere. She wondered what it was thinking about. Maybe there were more like it? Maybe it had gotten separated from them, or something?

Almost finished, Nikki wrapped the bandages around the creature's body. It seemed in good shape, from what she could tell, so it probably hadn't been wondering around for long. "I'm done," she said quietly, leaning back slightly. The creature looked at her as she looked down and sighed, as if the job had been hard.

"Thank you."

"Huh?"

Nikki looked up again to see the creature looking at her, smiling. She blinked incomprehensively. Suddenly, she jumped to her feet, hands raised. "Y-You can talk?!" She stammered loudly. "Yes." The creature looked a little confused.

From its voice, it sounded male, which Nikki had guessed on anyway. It also sounded young. She sighed. "Jeez. And all this time I thought it'd be such an issue." She brushed a hand through her hair. Exasperatingly, she dropped herself on her soft couch. The creature slowly stood up and looked at her.

"What's your name?" He asked. Nikki was a little surprised, but answered anyway. "Nikki. Nikki Madison," she said. "I'm Klonoa." Figured; weird creature, weird name. Nikki said nothing about it, though.

She had the urge to just blurt out a bunch of questions, but held it in. Perhaps rushing things wasn't the best approach. A long, quiet, familiar noise outside caught her attention. It caught Klonoa's, too, apparently, for he lifted his large ears higher than Nikki would've guessed he could.

Quickly, he limped to her window, which she had stupidly left opened all day. Nikki got up and walked over. "It sounds like… a wolf? No, that's impossible. It must be a dog," she commented thoughtfully. "It's Guntz," Klonoa corrected quietly. "You mean… there _are_ more like you?" Nikki asked incredulously.

When the howl faded, it was only a moment until another sounded. "Can you… howl back?" Nikki hesitated. "No," Klonoa answered simply. Nikki raised an eyebrow curiously, for Klonoa looked like he was about to do something else instead.

"GUNTZ!!"

"No—Stop!!"

Nikki pulled Klonoa's head out of the window so suddenly they both almost fell over. She quickly took her hands away when she felt the wet fur on her skin. Klonoa paused, apparently noticing this. "Do I disgust you?" He asked. "No! It's just—Well… your kinda… just… strange…" Nikki answered quickly, then slowly.

Klonoa looked back at the window. "Listen, you can't just make a bunch of noise and attract attention like that. People will… well, freak out if they see you," Nikki tried to explain. "I know… the people before… they screamed when they saw me." Nikki felt kinda bad. Klonoa sounded as if the people's surprise in his appearance was his fault.

"Maybe we can look for your friend tomorrow. After all, if he looks anything like you, he won't be hard to find… He is a 'he,' right?"

"Yes."

"Are there any more?"

"I don't… know."

Klonoa's reply was slow and thoughtful. The urge to ask more questions still lingered on Nikki's tongue. A grumbling sound caught her off guard until she realized what it was. She couldn't help but smile slightly. "Are you hungry?"

Despite his fur, Nikki could still oddly see Klonoa blush slightly. "A little…" He replied. "What do you like?" Not like she had any food he was probably used to. Klonoa seemed to think the same thing, for he hesitated. "I like… hamburgers."

Nikki blinked. "Hamburgers. Now that's one thing New York has plenty of, including hot dogs," she said, almost not believing how simple this was all turning out. Klonoa looked at her. "New York… is that what this world is called?" Well, that answered her question if he was an alien or not.

"Um, no. That's what this state is called. And this city is called New York City. This is planet Earth," Nikki answered awkwardly. "Earth," Klonoa echoed thoughtfully, looking down. "Well, I'll start on that hamburger now," Nikki said, changing the subject. Klonoa suddenly brightened. "Okay!"

* * *

Ho-hum… not much to say. Reviews are nice… I like to know if there's anything I can improve on, ya know? Anywho, stay tuned for Chapter 3: Struggle! 


	4. Chapter 3: Struggle

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any Klonoa characters… The others are mine, though.

* * *

**Chapter 3: Struggle**

"All right… I'll be back at around 6:00 o'clock. Just stay here, okay?"

"Okay…"

Nikki was just getting ready to leave for work. The thought of taking the day off crossed her mind, but then she remembered how close she was to losing her job. This was her last day to make sure she stayed employed.

What was the point, though? Nikki knew Klonoa would be on her mind all day. Anything could go wrong. Still, she had to trust him. "Promise me you won't leave," she insisted. "I promise," Klonoa replied. He was currently wearing hang-out clothes Nikki had given him. They were too big, for Klonoa's height only went up to her elbow, but it was better than wearing those wet, bloody clothes he came in with.

"Good… Well, you can watched TV and eat while I'm gone, okay? And go easy on that wound… See you." With that, Nikki reluctantly walked out and locked the door shut behind her.

Outside was no better than yesterday. It wasn't raining currently, though the gray clouds promised it would be later. Nikki groaned. She had told Klonoa they'd look for his friend today. If it was raining again, it'd be quite hard.

Nikki left her thoughts behind and hurried to her job.

---

Inside, Klonoa looked around awkwardly. This certainly wasn't like any home he'd ever been in before. The homes on his world were usually small and simply built, for they were only used to sleep in most of the time. Staying here all day didn't sound like any fun, but he had to obey Nikki.

Nikki… she certainly was different; especially compared to all the other people around here. She was alarmed when she saw him, Klonoa should've expected that, but she still helped him. And now she was going to help him even more.

With only a slight shift, Klonoa had to press a hand on his aching wound. He winced for a moment and caught his breath quickly. Walking around wasn't a good idea, anyway. Maybe resting was best for his body, as well.

Klonoa sat down in front of the couch. The couch itself was too comfortable for him. He was used to sleeping on hard mattresses and sometimes the ground. Now… what did Nikki say he could do? Watch TV… what was a 'TV?' And eat… he wasn't hungry.

Instead, Klonoa let his thoughts keep him busy. He was certain that the howling the night before was Guntz'. Whose else could it be? Guntz was here… But why? If Klonoa was really on this planet by how he thought he was, Guntz shouldn't be here.

Was anyone else here, too? Pango? Lolo? Popka…? Klonoa closed his eyes. Part of him hoped they were. When he first came to this planet, he feared he'd never see them again. It was strange. This hadn't happened for such a long time. He had been beginning to hope it'd never happen again. But he was wrong…

Klonoa looked at the large ring in his hand. A faint yell caught his attention. With effort, he stood up and limped to the window. It was locked closed and he currently didn't know how to open it. Looking down into the alleyway, he could see what looked like four young kids. Three were slowly walking toward one, who was backing up.

This looked familiar. Klonoa looked at the window up and down. Below, the one kid couldn't back up anymore, for he had reached the wall. The three other boys, larger and with hostile expressions, semi-circled him. "Well, well, well. Looks like _somebody_ doesn't know how to take a hint," said the boy in the middle. "Please, Bill, I-I didn't have a choice—My mom made me—"

"Yeah right! I'll bet you blame your mom for all of your problems."

"No, I—"

"And I'll bet you cry to her, too!"

The three boys laughed cruelly. Klonoa's large, sensitive ears could hear every word they said. The center boy grinned. "I clearly remember telling you _not_ to come to school today, unless, of course, you wanted some of _this_." He clenched a fist and held it up. "Not only that, but you didn't even have the common sense to bring any money to please me. I'm very disappointed," he said in mock-seriousness.

"Now we're gonna have to teach you _another_ lesson," another boy said. "Yep. Not that it'll stick this time," the other boy laughed. They started walking closer, fists raised, their large shadows lumbering over the helpless boy. He cowered against the wall, looking down and covering his face.

Klonoa finally found a latch above the windowsill and undid the lock. With amazing speed, considering his wound, he jumped out of the window and leapt down between the boys. The three bullies recoiled in surprise. Klonoa's ears didn't even have time to fall back down before he spun his body around and stuck out his ring ahead.

A gust of strong wind was suddenly blasted at the three boys, sending them stumbling back and falling on their bottoms. The boys stared at the odd creature before them fearfully. Klonoa took one step forward and the boys jumped to their feet and ran off. The boy behind Klonoa simply stared, awe-stricken. He looked like he was about to say something, but he was given no time.

Klonoa jumped up at the metallic stairs hanging on the side of the apartment building and climbed back to the window from whence he came. The boy watched him as he disappeared and closed the window behind him. Inside, Klonoa immediately collapsed right where he was.

He put a hand to his side and lifted the shirt slightly. His wound had started bleeding again, he could tell, as redness soaked through the white bandages. He didn't know how to take care of this and hadn't worried about it until now, for he'd promised Nikki he'd be careful.

Well, that was two promises broken now; probably more like three, in fact. He wasn't careful on his wound; he had left the apartment; _and_ he attracted attention. Klonoa sighed, disappointed with himself. Nikki was helping him; the least he could do was obey her.

---

A few blocks away on an empty road strode a woman. She wasn't young or slim, but still seemed to be in a bit of a hurry. This road was cracked with countless amounts of potholes. It was bordered by abandoned buildings, their dirty walls representing their neglect.

Little to no people walked down roads like these. They made good shortcuts, but "evil" lurked down alleys like this; whether it be gangsters, rapists, or stray animals. But bold people like this woman had the nerve to cross them just to save a few minutes of their lives.

This road had never betrayed this woman before, but today wasn't her lucky day. She froze in place when she heard a menacing snarl. A dirty, skinny dog walked out from behind a dumpster. Its head was lowered; ears back, legs spread apart, teeth bared. The woman made no movement, trying to hide her fear.

She was no fool. This was a Doberman Pinscher. She knew dogs like that were ones to bite for no reason, especially around here. The stray showed no signs of backing off. It reared quickly and leapt at her, jaws parted and drool spraying from its lips. The woman screamed, lifting her purse as a hopeless defense.

The dog never bit her, though. Something had suddenly dashed out from the shadows of an alleyway that was between them and tackled the dog. The Doberman staggered in surprise and turned to its new opponent. From what the woman could see, it looked like a boy, considering his figure, wearing a red jacket and gray pants. The hood of the jacket was covering the person's face. He seemed to be holding what looked like a blue hat.

The Doberman bared its teeth again, this time with twitching ears. Another snarl accompanied it and the woman had to make sure she was hearing right. What that growl coming from the boy? The Doberman lunged forward and sank its teeth around the boy's neck. The woman looked away quickly as he was pushed and fell to his back.

Upon peaking through her fingers, which were covering her face, she saw the boy twist his body and… she couldn't believe it. A muzzle stuck out of the hood and fangs snapped around the Doberman's neck. With surprising power, the "boy" pushed up and threw the dog into the air. It flipped and landed on its back with a loud yelp.

The woman was surprised how pathetic the dog looked now as it staggered to its feet and fled. Panting, the boy slowly got back to his feet. He put a gloved hand to his neck, which seemed fine, and looked down at the hat in his other hand. Boldly, the woman got closer behind him. She slowly lifted a hand and grasped part of the boy's hood.

Suddenly realizing she was there, the boy spun around and leapt back. The hood flung off, revealing what made the woman gasp. The boy was certainly no ordinary "boy" at all. His face was covered in black and golden-yellow fur. Pointy, large, German Shepherd-like ears were on his head. A dog-like muzzle stuck out of his face. His blue eyes narrowed with unfriendliness.

His lips curled slightly as the woman back up, revealing rows of sharp teeth. "What are you?" Was what she felt like saying, but nothing came out. The woman had seen so much in her years and nothing had ever made her as speechless as this. Before she could do anything, not that she would've done much, the boy suddenly ran off down the road.

The woman didn't bother running after him as he soon disappeared from sight. "Oh… I forgot to thank him…" she said slowly, still in disbelief.

---

"Dad, that's going too far!"

"Nonsense, it'll be fine."

"What if you hurt them?"

"Who cares? They're monsters."

"'Monsters?!' They are not monsters!!"

People glanced in surprise and annoyance as Nikki screamed at her cellphone. How outrageous her father was being! How could he actually consider sending people out to roughly capture those creatures like Klonoa? He was the mayor! Certainly he could think of something smarter than that.

"Chill out, Nick. You're still young and all, you know? Believe me, this is the best for my city," her father insisted from the other side of the phone. "Please, dad, reconsider. These creatures could be here to… help us," Nikki suggested. Her father only laughed. "Help us? Nonsense! They're here to hurt us! Didn't you see that armadillo's claws?"

"You can't help what you're born with, dad," Nikki replied. "Whatever. I'm trying to help you and you just shun me away, like always," her father said, though he sounded far from hurt.

"There's no way I'm writing an article about your stupid ideas!" Nikki yelled. "Suit yourself. Don't come crying to me when you're unemployed." With that, the mayor hung up. Nikki sighed. Some father he was… She felt the sudden sensation to go check up on Klonoa, but her lunch break was almost over.

_As long as he stays inside,_ she told herself reassuringly.

* * *

Not much happening in this chapter. Probably because I get the terrible urge to explain things in detail while writing this, instead of just letting one thing happen after another; like I did with _The Wizard of Moo_... But that was a parody, so... Yeah... Look forward to chapter 4! 


	5. Chapter 4: The Hunt

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any Klonoa characters… The others are mine, though.

* * *

**Chapter 4: The Hunt**

It had started raining by the time Nikki returned to her apartment. She had planned on relaxing, probably forgetting all about Klonoa for a second. Coming home to just sit on her couch after a hard day's work always made her feel better. But she certainly didn't come home to anything pleasant this time.

On her rug, she noticed as she walked in, where red drops soaked in with the original teal color. It led in a small trail to the other side of her couch, where she couldn't see. "Klonoa?" She called. She felt slightly awkward, as if she was speaking to herself. But Klonoa soon enough responded. Nikki saw his head look over the arm rest of the couch.

She quickly walked over to him. "What happened?!" She asked loudly when she saw the side of his shirt soaked in blood. "I'm sorry. You told me to be careful, but I wasn't and it started bleeding again," Klonoa apologized, looking as if he were a young child being scolded. He sat beside the couch, as if standing up was too hard.

Nikki sighed, brushing a hand through her long hair. "I'm sorry," Klonoa repeated, looking down. "It's okay… I'll just clean it up," Nikki replied quietly. She was trying not to get annoyed, though it was hard to not get mad at anything after such a stressful day. And it wasn't like this was _her_ rug. If the owner of the apartment came up right that moment, he'd charge her for the stain.

Still, it wasn't like this was really Klonoa's fault, right? _He_ was the one bleeding, after all. At least he was safe and her father hadn't gotten to him somehow. "I'll go get some bandages," Nikki said, walking away.

"You still want to go?" Nikki asked after treating Klonoa's wound again. It had pretty much stopped bleeding by then and didn't seem to have been bleeding as much as when it was first inflicted. Klonoa had stood up with a bit of effort. "Yes… If it's all right with you," he hesitated, as if expecting a punishment.

Nikki had to smile at how pathetically cute he looked. She put a hand on his furry head reassuringly. "Nope, it's all right. I promised, after all," she replied good-naturedly. Klonoa looked relieved. "But it's raining now and you're going to have to hide your face. I think I know something you can wear," Nikki continued. She was feeling a bit more relaxed herself by now.

She had Klonoa put on a raincoat that was too large for herself, so it was huge on him. Its bottom nearly dragged on the ground. The hood hid his face as long as he didn't look up and he had to keep his ears tucked in behind him. Nikki was wearing her own black raincoat that looked so formal that it was easily mistaken for a normal coat.

The two left the apartment and set down the wet, shinning sidewalk. Klonoa was limping, but tried to hide it and kept pace with Nikki. A little worried, Nikki wasn't planning on looking far before suggesting they go back.

As expected, few people were around. Most stood idly, waiting for the bus. Some others sat in the rain with no choice, the merciless water soaking into their dirty, pruned faces. Klonoa gave these people a glance, as if he didn't understand. Nikki took his hand when they reached a group. The last thing she wanted was to lose him in a crowd.

When they reached a certain block, Klonoa looked around, as if recognizing something. "This is where I got hit by that big vehicle," he recalled. "You got hit by a _car_?" Nikki asked incredulously. "'Car?'" Klonoa echoed. "You don't have cars on your planet, but you have vehicles?" Nikki asked. She had lowered her voice as a few people past.

"Yes. They're smaller than… 'cars,'" Klonoa replied. Nikki scratched her head. "So, um… where do you think your friend would be?" She asked, changing the confusing subject. "Not out in the open… He's usually easy to see because he carries big guns," Klonoa answered. Nikki staggered slightly. "Guns? Jeez… let's hope your right about him not staying out in the open," she sighed. She wasn't sure if she was really going to like this guy.

A red light lit up at one of the traffic lights and Nikki started to move, but she felt Klonoa stay still behind her. When she turned around, she saw him looking up, the top of his hidden ears perked. "I hear it again… Guntz' howl," he said quietly, concentrating. Amazing, Nikki thought. He had the brain of a human and the senses of an animal.

Klonoa looked to the side. "It's coming from over there," he said. Nikki was about to say something, but, without warning, he ran off in that direction. She stumbled in surprise. W-Wait!" She called, running after him. It was ominously quiet down this road, for some odd reason.

Nikki slowed to a stop, forgetting about Klonoa for a moment. This was just like the other roads, only a bit longer. Was it being blocked? Why? She hadn't noticed any signs or cones. But when you're a New Yorker, she supposed, you stop looking after a while. She turned around when she felt a tug on her coat.

"He's moving," Klonoa said. Nikki blinked. Why did he come back? Didn't he want to find his friend quickly? "Well, let's hurry, then," Nikki replied. This time, Klonoa led the way, for Nikki hadn't been able to hear the howl over the sound of traffic, or now, even. It was very quiet.

Distant yelling could then be heard somewhere far ahead. It was too dark to see anything. Why weren't the streetlights on? A sudden, loud _bang_ noise made Nikki jump as it was followed by a sharp dog-like yelp. Klonoa suddenly ran ahead and Nikki didn't notice until a few second later.

"Wait!" she yelled, but then clamped her hands over her mouth. If she kept this up she'd be shot, too. But now Klonoa was in danger. Quickly, but not running, Nikki made her way forward. She stepped close to the ground, trying to keep as quiet as possible. She froze when she heard rapid footsteps coming toward her.

Before Nikki could even make out the figure in the darkness, it bumped into her, causing both of them to fall over. She quickly leaned on a wall beside her and got up, but the figure stayed where it was. Nikki tensed upon looking at it.

It was certainly Klonoa's friend, if not the one they were looking for. It had a dog-like face and human body. It currently lay where it had fallen, breathing heavily, eyes closed. Nikki wondered if it had been injured by the gunshot. Slowly, she took a step forward and bent over, reaching out her hand toward it.

Without even looking to see that she was there, the dog-like creature suddenly lunged toward her and snapped its parted jaws at her hand. Nikki flinched and the creature weakly fell over again. Another sound behind her made her jump again.

Klonoa was suddenly there and nearly skidded to a kneel beside the seemingly unconscious dog-like creature.

"Guntz! Wake up!" He yelled frantically. Well, that proved that this _was_ the one they were looking for. Again without looking, Guntz bared his jaws and lunged them at Klonoa. "Watch—" Nikki stopped mid-sentence as the fangs already fastened around Klonoa's skinny arm.

Klonoa looked more sad than scared or mad, though. "Guntz… don't you recognize me?" It was then that Nikki noticed the small dart stabbed in one of Guntz' shoulders. So that was it. He wasn't trying to be aggressive. He was just tired and freaked out. Nikki knew she'd freak out if the urge to sleep overcame her while she was being hunted, too.

Eventually, the teeth loosened and Guntz' head weakly fell to the ground. Nikki got closer and knelt beside Klonoa. "Calm down, we're not going to hurt you. We just want to help," she said quietly, trying to calm him down.

"Bullshit."

The reply was hoarse, but strong. Nikki blinked in surprise. She looked at Klonoa, who didn't seem at all surprised at his friend's foul language. He actually looked more relieved that Guntz was speaking at all. Nikki staggered slightly in her position when Guntz started lifting his upper-body slightly.

He opened his eyes, but they were dazed and didn't seem to be able to see much. _Not long before he falls unconscious completely,_ Nikki thought. She was honestly surprised that he was lasting this long, though hoped that he'd hurry up and fall asleep. They had to get out of there before those men who shot him showed up.

"Look, your friend Klonoa is here," Nikki said, desperately trying to find ideas to make Guntz chill out. He twitched his ears and paused for a second, as if not believing her. "Klonoa?" he echoed hoarsely. Klonoa twitched. "Guntz, are hurt? Can you stand up?" he asked worriedly.

To Nikki's surprise, Guntz made a small smile. "You idiot, I've been looking for you," he said quietly. "I'm sorry," Klonoa apologized, as if he were at some fault. Guntz sniggered slightly. "Stupid, you're always worrying about how other people feel..." He shivered slightly as his arms gave out from under him. He made no movement after that.

"Guntz! Guntz, wake up!" Klonoa yelled. Nikki had been so engrossed in the two's conversation that she had almost completely forgotten about the tranquilizer. Poor Klonoa looked close to tears. "Don't worry, he's just sleeping. I think they tranquilized him," Nikki explained, trying to sound as if nothing was wrong.

Klonoa looked at her desperately. "Why?" he asked. Nikki hesitated. It was like teaching a young child what "murder" meant. "Look, we should hurry up and bring him home," she said instead, avoiding the question. Klonoa only looked at her and Nikki realized that he was too small to carry Guntz. She sighed, trying to remind herself that he was tranquilized and wouldn't wake up for another several hours.

Trying not to look disgusted or annoyed, Nikki carefully lifted Guntz' limp body onto her back. He was smaller that her, too, she could tell, though he had sounded older than Klonoa. Nikki heard distant yelling as Klonoa jumped to his feet. "C'mon, let's go," she said, starting to run back toward the road they had come from.

Upon running, the three reached Nikki's apartment room within a few minutes. Again luck had been on their side and no one noticed them; at least, Nikki hoped that was the case. Reluctantly, she let Guntz down on the couch. Klonoa looked at him worriedly, as if he didn't believe that he was just sleeping.

Nikki could tell just by looking that the two were close. Perhaps they were related… She blinked. Was that possible? Well… it was a completely different planet… She shook her head quickly, catching Klonoa's attention. "Um… why don't I go make something to eat?" she suggested, noticing Klonoa's stare.

"I'm not hungry," Klonoa replied quietly, looking back at Guntz. He looked oddly somber, contrary to his childish mood before. Nikki brushed the back of her head awkwardly, but stopped when she noticed something. "Oh, he has a wound on his neck," she said.

It was hardly noticeable through the dog-wolf's highly furred mane. It didn't seem to be bleeding currently, but it was still open and in danger of becoming infected. "And there's that wound on your arm, too," Nikki added to Klonoa, regarding Guntz' bite mark. Quickly, she left and came back with bandages and ointment. She had taken the dart out of Guntz' shoulder and, though it was unnecessary, would treat that, too, just in case.

Afterward, she asked Klonoa to go get a blanket from the closet in her room. Guntz was soaked to the bone and could catch a Cold.

_You're being too nice, Nikki,_ she told herself. _Doing this is going to cause a lot of trouble for you. _She could see it now: being fired, getting on even worse terms with her father, getting caught, being arrested… But still she couldn't bring herself to even think about kicking these two odd creatures out. She had offered her help and it was her responsibility now.

Yet the same question continued to reel in her mind: why me? Nikki was beginning to wonder what was taking Klonoa so long when Guntz shifted slightly. She froze as he opened his blue eyes slowly. He immediately noticed her, jerked back with a start, and began growling.

Nikki almost fell from the chair she was sitting on. Guntz looked even more threatening than he had before. And what was he doing so full of energy, let alone even awake? His wet fur bristled and his muzzle wrinkled nastily. Nikki was about to call for Klonoa, but she didn't need to, for he suddenly appeared in the room.

He dropped the blanket he was carrying when he saw Guntz. "Guntz!" he yelled. Nikki was surprised that it wasn't a yell of relief, but more of a scolding. Guntz twitched in surprise and stopped growling. "Don't be mean to Nikki, she's helping us," Klonoa said as he picked up the blanket again and walked over.

"Are you crazy?! She's just like the other one's who shot—" Guntz was cut off as Klonoa threw the blanket over his head. "She's not! She much nicer than those other people. She's been helping me this whole time." Klonoa almost sounded protective.

Nikki struggled to resist a blush of embarrassment. She wasn't used to being complimented. Guntz threw the blanket off his head, his irritation showing clearly in his face. "So what? It could be a trap!" Guntz yelled.

"I know it's not! You're just not trusting enough."

"You're _too_ trusting!"

Nikki was dazzled by how loud the room had suddenly gotten. The two seemed like enemies now, contrary to seeming like brothers before. Somehow, she could still hear the doorbell ring from across the room. A chill struck her heart.

Who could that be? So late at night…?

* * *

Gawd… Could that first scene between Guntz and Klonoa sound any more shounen-ai? I can't believe I wrote something like that… I blame Solitary Shadow! Her and her ebil, manipulating fics… My intention wasn't for it to sound shounen-ai, but believe what you will. I personally think the "relationship" between Klonoa and Guntz is very interesting, and I love to play with it! –Maniacal laughter- 

Right… well… Stay tuned for Chapter 5!


	6. Chapter 5: Adapting

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any Klonoa characters… The others are mine, though.

* * *

**Chapter 5: Adapting**

Nikki stared at the door down the hall from across the room. The two boys were still arguing on whether Nikki was trustworthy or not. "Shh!" She suddenly snapped at them. They silenced, staring at her in surprise, as if having forgotten that she was there.

Reluctantly, Nikki got up and walked to her door. She stood by it for a moment until the doorbell rang again. Slowly, she undid the lock on the doorknob but kept an extra chain lock higher up locked. She opened the door a crack and looked through. The sight almost made her groan out aloud.

"Hey, Nick, what's up?" asked a young man probably about her age. Nikki put a hand to her head exasperatingly. Of all times… why _him_? "Chris, please… not now… I'm—"

"Busy. I know, I know… But, well, I was just wondering if maybe, you know, you could find room somewhere to go out somewhere, or something," Chris replied hopefully. "Chris, I already told you. I'm… I can't fit in any kind of… relationship right now. With work, and my dad, and…" Nikki's voice trailed off with a quiet sigh.

There was no hiding Chris' disappointment. "Right, of course… So it's… for now? Maybe someday…" Nikki frowned. "I just—I just don't know, okay? It's… Now's a very stressful time for me."

"Maybe I can help?"

"No!"

Chris blinked at Nikki's sudden yell. Nikki mentally hit herself over the head. "I mean… I think it's better if I did this alone—" She was cut off by the sound of something falling somewhere behind her. It sounded like a pan on her tiled kitchen floor. It was followed by a quiet, incomprehensible yell. "Is… Is someone else in there?" Chris asked slowly.

"What? Of course not! Why would someone be here?" Nikki replied quickly, smiling nervously. "Well, it'd explain why you're peaking through the door as if I were some stranger," Chris replied. Nikki had no response for that. She peaked over her shoulder quickly as she heard footsteps behind her.

"What's this do?" She heard Guntz asked from the living room. "Guntz, don't touch Nikki's stuff," Klonoa whispered. With a faint _beep_, the TV suddenly turned on. The two made a quick yell of surprise.

"All right, now I _know_ someone's in there," Chris said, opening the door as far as the chain lock would let it and looking through. "No, Chris! No one's here!" Nikki quickly defended, trying to hold the door back. Chris stopped pushing and lowered his voice. "Why are you lying to me? Is there someone is there I shouldn't meet? Is that why you keep rejecting me?"

Now Nikki felt bad at how hurt Chris' voice sounded. "No, it's nothing like that… And I'm not 'rejecting' you, I'm just…" Nikki looked down. "Then why can't you tell me who's in there?" Chris asked. "Because… you wouldn't believe me," Nikki hesitated slowly.

"C'mon, I'll believe anything as long as it's not what I'm believing right now," Chris insisted. Nikki gave him a long took as he smiled, trying to prove that he was trustworthy. Finally, she sighed in defeat and undid the chain lock. "All right—but!" Nikki stopped Chris as he began walking through the door.

"You have to promise that you won't tell _anyone_. Not a soul! Got it?"

"Aw, c'mon, Nick. I've always been a good promise-keeper, ever since Junior High."

"Yeah, right! And then you'd come over to me after I despairingly asked you why everyone knew my secret and you'd say, 'I keep promises with conditions.'"

"What's the point of keeping a secret if no one knows it?"

"That's the _whole_ point!"

Chris smiled sheepishly, scratching his head through his black hair as Nikki caught her breath. "Well…" he began. "Promise?" Nikki asked. "I promise," Chris replied. "No conditions?" Nikki asked suspiciously. "No conditions," Chris swore. Nikki stuck out her ring finger and Chris sighed.

"Aw, c'mon. Not the finger thing."

"Do it."

Reluctantly, Chris held out his hand and locked his ring finger with Nikki's. Together, with different tones of voice, they chanted: "Promises are kept together, never will they break forever."

"That's such a kid thing," Chris moaned. "I never make promises with anyone who doesn't know it," Nikki replied simply. She opened the door all the way and walked to the end of the hall. "Don't scream," she said unenthusiastically, stopping to let him pass.

Chris made a _phfft _sound with his lips, as of not believing her. He froze when he saw the two odd creatures in the living room. Nikki was a little surprised, too. The two were fighting over the remote like little kids.

"Give it to me, Guntz, you're gonna make it worse!"

"No! This thing turned it on, so it'll turn it off."

Nikki walked past Chris, who just stood there gaping. Guntz was holding the remote high, out of Klonoa's reach. Nikki easily snatched it away. The two silenced and looked at her. With a simple click, the TV was off. She then dropped the remote on the soft couch.

It was then that the boys noticed Chris. Guntz started growling again, but Klonoa just stared curiously. Nikki back up slightly, partly to get near Chris again, partly to get away from Guntz' dangerous fangs. "This is my friend, Chris," she introduced. Chris looked at her, as if the simple title "friend" wasn't enough.

Guntz stopped growling and sat back on the couch, as if bored. Klonoa eventually walked over to them. There was a resisted limp in every unsteady step he took and Guntz seemed to notice this. Upon reaching them, Klonoa smiled brightly.

"Hi, I'm Klonoa," he greeted, reaching out a hand. "Um… hi," Chris hesitated, shaking the hand slowly. Nikki chuckled slightly at how cute Klonoa looked, as if he were her own. He looked over his shoulder. "And that's Guntz."

Guntz looked toward the TV, as if its black screen was more interesting than what was happening behind him. Klonoa turned and limped back to the couch. Chris gave Nikki a baffled look, speechless. "I'll explain in the kitchen. I should start making something," Nikki responded.

Klonoa and Guntz gave her a glance at that and it was enough to tell her that they were hungry. Chris followed her as she left the room.

"She really is a nice person," Klonoa was saying as clinking dishes began sounding from the kitchen. Guntz absently looked at the TV remote in his hand. "Whatever," he mumbled, sounding bored. "You should be nicer to her. She's helping us, you know," Klonoa said. Guntz ignored him and began clicking a few buttons.

"You're gonna break it," Klonoa warned. "Shut up," Guntz replied distractedly. "If you break it, Nikki will get mad and stop helping us." Klonoa got closer and tried to take the remote away from him. Guntz held it up. "Cut it out," he said, annoyed, pushing Klonoa back roughly.

Klonoa lost his balance and fell on his left side. Guntz didn't take any notice until Klonoa didn't get back up after a while. "Hey… you okay?" he asked slowly, a hint of concern in his voice. Nikki then walked into the room, apparently about to ask the two a question before noticing Klonoa. "You guys—oh, not again!" She rushed to his side and helped him sit up.

Klonoa was wincing, a hand to his left side. Nikki lifted his shirt, revealing the reddening bandages. "At this rate it'll never heal," she sighed. Guntz stared, not saying a word. Nikki sighed silently. Those two really were like brothers; playing rough until someone got hurt. At least, that's what she predicted they had been doing.

Chris, probably wondering where Nikki was, walked into the room. "Chris, get me some bandages," Nikki immediately ordered. Chris blinked in surprise, but obeyed. "You're running out," he said once he returned and handed over the roll of bandages. "Just great…" Nikki grumbled sarcastically.

When she finished dressing the wound and the pain in Klonoa's side seemed to die down a bit, Guntz finally asked, "What happened?" Nikki was about to answer, but Klonoa did first. "I got hit by a… 'car,'" he said. "What the hell's a 'car?'" Guntz asked. Nikki stood up as the two were talking. No hard feelings between them, apparently, she thought.

She looked at Chris, who was still staring at the two creatures with a baffled gaze. "Anyway, as I was saying…" Nikki began, "these guys apparently came from a different planet… I still need to ask them about the details, though… and if they're more of them." Chris blinked. "More weird creatures like them? You'd think… Oh! You know what… I remember something weird on the news yesterday," he said thoughtfully.

Nikki stared at him expectantly. "There was this big armadillo-looking thing—" He was interrupted. "I remember that now!" Nikki yelled so suddenly the Guntz and Klonoa looked at her. She spun around to face them. "Do you guys know an armadillo?" The two didn't seem to understand, blinking. "Um… big, round, orange… pangolin," Nikki tried to explain.

"Pango!" Klonoa suddenly said. "You know it?" Nikki asked. "Pango's not an 'it.' Can't you tell a guy from a girl?" Guntz sounded quite insulting. _Well I'm sure it's easy for _you_ guys! _Nikki growled silently. "Where is he?" Klonoa asked, standing up slowly. Nikki looked at Chris, who shrugged helplessly.

"Well… I don't know. But, he's a big guy, right? I'm sure he'll show up eventually," she replied finally, trying to choose her words more carefully this time. "Good. Then we can figure out what the hell is going on," Guntz said, leaning back on the couch. Klonoa stared down at the large ring he was always holding thoughtfully.

"Oh, yeah, Nikki," Chris suddenly began just as Nikki was starting to wonder how she'd fit a giant pangolin in her little apartment. "I actually came here about this." He took out a pamphlet. "The circus is in town and I was wondering if you wanted to come." Nikki took the small booklet. "I already told you, I have no time. Especially…" her voice trailed off as she read the cover. Her eyes suddenly widened.

"That's it! Chris, you're a genius!" Guntz and Klonoa stared as she suddenly hugged Chris. Chris scratched his head, chuckling sheepishly. "Well, that's nice to know… but why?" Nikki let go of him and took a step back. "It says 'new and unusual attractions.' Maybe—"

"Pango wouldn't go _that_ low, even for cover," Guntz interrupted. "What's a circus?" Klonoa asked, but no one answered him. "Still, it's our only lead. Patrolling the city isn't going to help, especially since those guys are looking for you," Nikki said. "About that," Guntz began with hinted annoyance.

"What the hell's up with your people and their bullets that make you sleep?" He asked. "They're not _my_ people. We're all different," Nikki replied. "I don't care! I didn't do shit, and they go hunting me down like I'm a wild animal," Guntz growled. _To them you _are_ a wild animal,_ Nikki replied silently.

"Well… I'm only one person in a big city. I don't know why a lot of things happen here," she said. "Then maybe you should—" Klonoa interrupted quickly. "Leave her alone, Guntz! We're lucky she's even helping us at all. Don't make her change her mind." Nikki frowned. "I'm not going to change my mind," she said sternly. Guntz didn't reply, looking slightly surprised. He only sighed and leaned back on the couch again.

Klonoa sat down next to the couch, as if tired. His wound probably still hurt. Guntz twitched an ear and reached a hand into his jacket. He plopped a blue object onto Klonoa's head. "Found your hat," he said in a normal tone, as if it wasn't of any importance.

"Oh! Thanks. I guess I lost it after that big vehicle hit me. It's kinda wet, though," Klonoa said, smiling as he felt the hat on his head. He looked even more like a child with it on, Nikki thought. "Don't complain, or I'll take it back," Guntz warned. Klonoa held the hat protectively on his head. He then twitched an ear and looked up.

"What's that smell?" he asked. Before Nikki could even think about it, a loud, repetitive _beep_ing sounded. Both Klonoa and Guntz jumped in surprise. Nikki did nothing for a moment, trying to remember what that sound meant. "It's the smoke alarm," Chris said simply.

"Smoke—The food! It's burning!" Nikki yelled. She ran into the kitchen, where the smoking that was slowly creeping into the living room was coming from. A few seconds later, the beeping stopped. "Sorry, guys," Nikki began gloomily, wiping her dirty hands together. "The food's going to have to take a bit longer."

Guntz and Klonoa only stared at her wide-eyed, their fur on end. Nikki made a small smile. It was like having pets that weren't used to being in a house.

_But they're not pets, Nikki, so stop acting like they are. _

* * *

Meh. This one took a while 'cause of me spending all my free time writing _First Love_. Now I'm behind and chapter 6 might not be uploaded for a while, either. Oh well. Stay tuned for it anyway! 


	7. Chapter 6: Happy and Unhappy Reunions

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any Klonoa characters… The others are mine, though.

* * *

**Chapter 6: Happy and Unhappy Reunions**

"All right, that should do it! Ready to go?"

It was early the next morning. Luckily, Nikki had off on Mondays, but that didn't mean she usually wasn't busy. Chris was there with the tickets for the circus. Nikki had asked him to buy two more after confirming with herself that she wouldn't be able to disguise Guntz and Klonoa as pets.

"You sure sheets are going to work?" Chris asked after examining the cloak covered Guntz and Klonoa. "They're not just sheets… It'll make them look like homeless people. They go to circuses a lot," Nikki replied. "Yeah, to work there," was all Chris said in reply. "What's so bad about homeless people?" Klonoa asked, picking up their tone of voice and probably recalling the times he had seen homeless people on the sidewalks.

"Well, nothing. It's just… they're kinda looked down on here." _With good reason,_ Nikki added silently. "I don't like this place more and more every second I'm here," Guntz remarked, shifting the black cloak that was a bit too big for him. That one and the one Klonoa had were actually costumes to some play Nikki couldn't remember the name of. Luckily Klonoa's was a bit smaller.

"But being homeless is easier, isn't it? You can go where ever you want, do whatever you want… You don't have to clean up after your house," Klonoa began.

"You don't have to pay taxes."

"No curfews."

"No home insurance."

"Cleaning your room."

"Thieves."

Nikki looked back and forth as Klonoa and Guntz talked in turn. She almost wanted to laugh at how opposite they sounded. Despite probably being only a little older than Klonoa, Guntz sounded like an adult, and Klonoa probably acted a bit childish for his age. "Well… You have to worry if you'll be able to eat every day," Nikki said.

"Only an idiot becomes homeless when they have no money," Guntz replied simply. _Well, some people don't have a_ choice Nikki thought. New York certainly was no place for these two. Chris, who had been silently watching, finally spoke up. "The circus starts soon. If we want to get there early…"

"Right! Let's go," Nikki said quickly. "Why so early?" Klonoa asked as Guntz began yawning, as if to agree. "No one goes to the circus when they first open. Honestly, nowadays the first hour they open is just to set up since no one's there," Nikki explained. Guntz and Klonoa exchanged glances. "I still don't know what a circus is…" Klonoa said quietly.

"Oh! _This_ is a circus!" Klonoa said loudly when the four began walking toward the various large tents. "I've been to one of these—" He quickly turned to Guntz, "—in Joilant!" He had on a big, excited smile. "Joilant _itself_ is a circus!" Guntz replied. Nikki could only wonder what this "Joilant" place was.

The cloaks covered most of their bodies, but if they kept looking around like they were, someone would eventually notice, Nikki thought. The two boys stared wide-eyed as a man led an elephant past nearby. They staggered slightly when they saw a few clowns, muttering something to each other about a "joka." And last, but not least, they stared incomprehensively at the food.

"It's popcorn," Nikki said, slightly annoyed, as the held the butter-smelling bag. "It smells bad for you," Guntz remarked. "He's right, you kn—" Chris began, but Nikki elbow him. The last thing she wanted right now was people telling her she was eating fatty foods. She always wanted snacks when she was stressed out.

The four then started strolling around the attractions. They past cages with lions and tigers in them. Nikki had to wonder if Guntz and Klonoa could understand them as they so fiercely roared at them. It seemed unlikely, though. Then they reached an area where several performers were practicing their talented tricks.

"This is a waste of time," Guntz said for probably the third time that day. "He's not gonna be here." Klonoa suddenly stopped and pointed ahead. "Ah…" he said quietly. Guntz followed his gaze and, once he saw what Klonoa was seeing, gaped in disbelief. Nikki and Chris didn't know what was so strange until the large figure they were pointing to turned around.

"P-Pango!" the two boys yelled at once. "Hmm?" With a bit of scrutinizing, Nikki then recognized the pangolin-like man as the one on TV, though he was wearing different clothes. "Pango!" Klonoa hugged the man with delight as Guntz only stared at his ridiculous clown clothing and makeup.

"Klonoa, Guntz! How did—Where did you come from?" Pango asked in a quite shocked voice. "From Nikki's home. She's helping us!" Klonoa looked back at Nikki, who smiled sheepishly at their gazes. In all the excitement, Klonoa's hood had fallen off. Guntz tightly pulled it back over his head. "Don't be so loud, you're causing a scene," he warned.

Indeed quite a few people were staring curiously. "Then let's go inside," Pango suggested, pointing to a large tent behind him. Inside the tent were more performers and people setting up for the show. Pango led them to a room where they were alone and could take their costumes off.

"So, Pango, know if anyone else is here?" Guntz was asking. "No. I didn't even know you guys were here. Sure is a relief, though. I thought I was in this strange place all by myself," Pango smiled. "Well… then what was the last thing we were doing before we came here?" Guntz asked, crossing his arms thoughtfully.

Klonoa watched the two, as if he had no part in the conversation. Nikki and Chris were again watching from the back, near the door of the small room they were in. "We were… making an oath, weren't we?" Pango said. Guntz looked at him as he slapped his hands together with satisfaction. "Yes, we were making an oath!"

Pango put out his hand. "We were about to go our separate ways after defeating Nahatomb. So we made an oath that we'd always be partners, and if one of us were in need, we'd be there for support." Guntz blinked before reaching out a hand and putting it on Pango's. "Right, I remember now."

The two looked to the side at Klonoa, who hesitated. Eventually he put his left hand forward. "Didn't you use your ring?" Pango asked thoughtfully. Klonoa flinched slightly and reluctantly switched hands. He put his right hand, which was holding his large ring, forward slowly, as if afraid of what would happen. Neither of them seemed to notice his odd behavior.

"What happened after that?" Pango asked. Guntz frowned, taking his hand back to cross his arms again. "Then there was this big light and all of a sudden I was wet and it was dark," he replied. Pango nodded slowly as Klonoa just stared down at his ring. "So I suppose it should be safe to say that it's just us here, right?" Pango asked. "I guess, we were the only ones there at the time," Guntz shrugged.

"But… how will we learn of how we got here?" Pango asked, thinking. "Um… guys..." The two looked at Klonoa. He was staring down at his ring and fidgeting with it, as if nervous. "There's… something I…" There was a sudden ringing noise that almost made him jump. A pause went by before Pango piped up. "Oh! That's my cue. I have to get ready for the show," he said.

"Show?" Guntz asked disapprovingly. "Yes. You see, I didn't know what else to do. The people around here seemed so shocked by the way I look, for some reason. But here they don't make such a big deal about it—they actually seem to like it," Pango replied. "But you look like Joka!" Guntz objected incredulously. Pango scratched the back of his head.

"That's because this is a circus," Nikki spoke up from behind them. "People come looking for weird things to laugh at." Guntz looked at Pango sharply. "See?! This is downgrading. Let's just go!" he prompted. "But I… signed a contract…" Pango said slowly.

"That won't matter if they don't know where you live," Nikki said, looking as if she were ready to bolt out the door. She jumped back into Chris when it suddenly opened on its own. "Hey, you ready yet? Hmm? Well, lookie who it is," said a strange voice. "Yeah… I was going to mention him," Pango said uncomfortably.

Klonoa and Guntz only blinked, as if not believing their eyes. In the doorway was a round creature with only hands and feet that were unattached to its body. It was colored like a clown, though its eyes and grinning mouth barely changed with every word and expression it made. It was barely bigger than an inflated ball.

"Joka!!" The two finally yelled. "Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner!" Joka said, spinning around playfully. Guntz suddenly straightened and went into a defensive position. "Damn it, Joka, why won't you just die already?" he growled. Joka made what could possibly be a frown, though it was hard to tell since he was still grinning.

"Tsk. Well, that's not nice. I helped your friend here get this job, didn't I?" he said. Guntz and Klonoa looked at Pango. "Well… I didn't know what else to do. I thought I was alone, so I couldn't give up the offer," he replied, looking down. "Yep, and now you belong to me!" Joka made a piece of paper appear at his hand in a puff of smoke. "In fact, I'd like it if all of you belonged to me," he said.

It made a fist out of one of his unattached hands and lifted it up quickly. A cut suddenly appeared on one of Klonoa and Guntz' hands. As small drops of blood flew through the air, Joka made two more papers appear and caught them with each. The blood soaked into the paper and suddenly their names appeared at the bottom.

Klonoa and Guntz blinked incomprehensively. "There we go! Now it's time for the show. Chop, chop!" Joka prompted, making the papers disappear again. He suddenly turned to Nikki and Chris. "No guests allowed!" He clapped his hands and Nikki and Chris disappeared with a puff of smoke.

"What'd you do to them!?" Klonoa yelled, which was probably the loudest thing he'd said all day. "Calm down, they're comfortably in the audience, waiting for _your_ performance," Joka grinned. "If you think I'm dressing up like you and playing an act for other people then you've got another thing coming!" Guntz growled. "Well, of course I don't plan you to one your own free will," Joka replied.

He snapped his fingers and the scenery suddenly changed. It was dark. Quiet murmuring could be heard, which was quickly "shushed". "Ladies and gentlemen!" Joka suddenly appeared on spotlight. He looked up at the large circle of seated people surrounding him. "I, Joka the clown, am your host for today's show!"

Nikki and Chris were in the audience, though tied to the chairs they were sitting in and in a secluded area from everyone else. "Please give a warm round of applause for our performers!"

The whole area suddenly lit up, revealing the large inside of a tent. Where Joka was was a large, round area of sand. Objects were placed here and there. "Now, give it up for Pango! Our bomb juggler!" Suddenly Pango appeared, nervously juggling several lit bombs while riding on a unicycle much too small for him.

"Now, it may look easy, folks, but if he drops one bomb, it'll explode!" Joka said to the audience. The people laughed at how humorous the pangolin looked. "Next, give it up for Klonoa, our tightrope walker!" Everyone looked up at a thin rope high above them, where Klonoa was shakily standing, holding a long pole.

"How did I get up here…?" he asked himself quietly. "Now, don't worry, folks. If he falls, he'll fall in a pool of water," Joka said, pointing to the large pool of water below Klonoa. "That doesn't make _me_ feel any better!" Klonoa yelled. The audience made disappointed moans.

"Of course, a pool filled with piranhas!" The large, chomping fish jumped out of the water every now and then. The audience cheered. "And last, but certainly not least, put your hands together for Guntz, our tamed werewolf!" A light shone on a large cage. "Get me outta here!" Guntz growled, gripping the bars. "Oh, yes, and he can talk, too," Joka added simply. The audience screamed in excitement.

"And, without further ado, let's get started!" Joka cheered.

* * *

I was in an odd mood when I wrote the ending. I kept thinking, should I add Joka? Of course Joka'll make things more interesting. This is my first time using Pango and Joka, so bare with me. Anyway, stick around for Chapter 7: Circus of Hell! 


	8. Chapter 7: Circus of Hell

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any Klonoa characters… The others are mine, though.

* * *

**Chapter 7: Circus of Hell**

The audience cheered excitedly as Pango, Klonoa, and Guntz were introduced. The rope Klonoa was so carefully trying to balance on jiggled slightly, forcing him to move a bit. Pango was still struggling with his bombs and unicycle, unable to look away from them. With a snap of his fingers, Joka disappeared and reappeared in the cage Guntz was in.

On his round body was now a tuxedo and a black top hat. A whip and a red blanket appeared in his white hands. He held out the blanket with two hands and waved it. "Come along, little doggy," he taunted. "Hmph, I'm not gonna be provoked that easily," Guntz grinned. "Oh?" Joka asked. He stopped waving the blanket. On it, a picture then started showing.

Guntz' eyes narrowed at the sight of it. "Aw, well ain't this just the cutest little thing you ever did see?" Joka laughed. On the blanket showed two creatures that looked somewhat similar to Guntz; one much younger and one much older. They were smiling and laughing at each other.

Joka waved the blanket slightly and the image changed. "Oops. Look'it that," he chuckled. Now on the blanket was a purple cat-looking creature with large claws… then the older Guntz-looking character… then blood… Maniacal laughter and the pitiful wailing of a child ran through Guntz' ears. He shivered, teeth tightly clenched.

"Now, now. Must I continue?" Joka asked, waving the blanket a few times. Guntz' eyes were becoming watery as he started growling. "You bastard!!" He screamed furiously, running for him at full speed. He snapped his fangs at Joka, but the clown easily dodged. "What was that about not being provoked so easily?" he teased as Guntz snapped at him again.

"What a unique show. Though the costumes seem a bit much," commented a woman in the audience near Nikki and Chris.

"I suppose. But it makes it more enjoyable for kids," replied a man.

"At least the costumes look real, especially the teeth of that werewolf."

Nikki struggled in her seat. "Damn it…! Don't those people realize that they're doing this against their will?" she growled. Chris sat still. "Well, of course not. People never come to circuses and think on behalf of the performers," he said. Nikki turned to him sharply.

"Aren't you even going to _try_ to break free?!" she asked. "Already taken care of." Chris smiled as he raised his freed hands, one holding a pocket knife. Nikki blinked. "Why didn't you—" Chris cut her off by covering her mouth. "You never know, this guy could have eyes on the walls. We gotta keep quiet," he warned.

Nikki blinked, then nodded slowly and looked forward. For the first time, she thought Chris pretty smart as he silently began cutting at her ropes.

Guntz made a sharp yelp as a whip struck him in the face. "Come on, now. You're making this too easy. The audience wants a show," Joka taunted, snapping his whip in the air. Guntz bared his fangs, snarling as a drop of blood slid down the side of his face. "Guntz! Don't let him get to your head!" Klonoa called from high above.

"Shut it!" Joka demanded as he pointed a finger at him. Suddenly, the rope Klonoa was so barely balancing on began jiggling violently. "W-Whoa!" Klonoa yelped as he struggled to keep his footing, the pole he was holding waving helplessly. "Keep yappin' like that and I'll _make _you fall." Joka turned to Guntz, who was finally calming down from his rage. "And you. Quit comin' at me and I'll only ensure that."

Guntz was panting slightly from chasing after Joka. "I'm done playing your games, clown," he growled. "Oh? That's just too bad. 'Cause I've just begun!" A large metallic ring appeared in Joka's hand and he held it up. With a snap, it lit afire. "C'mon, doggy. The lions here can do it, I'm sure _you_ can," he said, swinging it slightly.

"I have a better game we can play. It's called 'kill the clown,'" Guntz suggested, not moving. "Oh? That sounds like lots of fun!" Joka replied enthusiastically. "Yeah? Well, here's how it goes!" Guntz lunged at Joka again, fangs bared. Joka didn't move. With a chuckle, he snapped his fingers just a Guntz was about to snap at him.

All of a sudden, with a puff of smoke, Guntz was in front of Pango and slammed into him, knocking him off his unicycle. The audience laughed as he so desperately caught the falling bombs with any available body part. "Don't let those touch the ground, my clown, unless you wanna explode," Joka laughed.

Guntz slowly got back to his feet and started growling again. Murmurs of uncertainty could be heard in the audience, for the "werewolf" was no longer in his cage. "Hrrm, you didn't play the game very well. It's '_kill_ the clown,' is it not?" Joka asked, with another puff of smoke appearing out of the cage. "I meant you!" Guntz snarled.

"Me? Can't you see this tuxedo? I'm clearly a beast tamer. My fair juggler over there is the only clown here," Joka replied. Indeed Pango, who struggling to not drop any bombs, was still wearing clown make-up.

_Where's my ring?_ Klonoa thought as he looked around down at the arena. It was nowhere to be seen. _I'll have to fight without it then. I'm not useless without the ring! _Though part of him thought otherwise. How much physical strength could someone as small as him have? But he couldn't stand being so high up and helpless any more.

_This is suicide!_ Klonoa thought as he prepared to jump off the thin rope. Joka noticed immediately. "Oh, no you don't," he said, pointing at finger at him. Just before he was about to jump, the rope snapped. It limply fell from his feet, making him fall with it. Yelling, he tumbled toward the piranha filled pool below.

"Klonoa!" Both Guntz and Pango yelled. Guntz started running toward him, but Joka appeared in front of him. "We're still playing our game, aren't we?" he chuckled. There was a big splash as Klonoa fell into the water from so high up. The audience silenced as they stared, wondering what would happen next.

After an anticipating long moment, something suddenly burst out of the water. Klonoa was flung to the ground, the dirt sticking as mud to his fur. A few piranhas were still chomping at him, though most fell off as they realized they were no longer in water.

"Can't have anyone dying in my show," Joka laughed quietly so that the audience couldn't hear. Klonoa didn't move, possibly unconscious, as his thick wet fur hid his face.

Seeing that Joka wasn't looking at him, Guntz made a move to snap at him. "Watch out, mister Joka!" someone from the audience yelled. Without turning around, Joka snapped his fingers and disappeared into a puff of smoke just as Guntz' fangs clicked together. He immediately opened his mouth again as a dove flew out. "Geh! Enough games, Joka!" he spat, looking round.

"You are right," Joka agreed from above. Everyone looked up to see him standing on a ledge of a pole that had been holding up Klonoa's rope. He raised one of his hands and the lights suddenly shut off. "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. It is now time for the moment you've all been waiting for," Joka announced as colors lights flashed around the tent.

Klonoa groaned as he slowly lifted his sopping wet head. "Ah, you're awake! And just in time for… the grand finale!!" Joka yelled. A rumbling then started in the tent. The ground shook as it sounded like something huge was slowly stomping closer.

"I'm sure _you_ remember my faithful monster," Joka said to Klonoa. He looked at Pango and Guntz. "But let me introduce to you the awesome, the terrified, the enormous Rongo Lango!" He raised his hands and a spotlight shone on a huge creature just below him. Klonoa wobbled to his knees as the monster roared. The audience stared with ignorant interest.

"Where the hell did that thing come from?!" Guntz yelled, backing up. _Not good... What is Joka planning? With all these people here... _Klonoa thought as he looked over his shoulder at the beast, still on his knees. He quickly ripped a stubborn piranha off his ear before staggering to his feet.

"Is that thing real?!" Nikki asked, now freed. She and Chris were hiding behind the standings the audience was on, on the dirt arena. They were behind the huge monster, out of its sight but still in danger of being stepped on if it decided to back up for any reason. Chris wasn't looking at it. He was staring at a nearby box of fireworks. "C'mon. I have an idea," he whispered.

The Rongo Lango stood obediently under Joka, staring at the three hungrily with its beady red eyes. It had no legs, but huge arms. Its long tail curled and kept to the ground, supporting itself as a substitute for its missing legs. Its long head looked like a huge beak and seemed too big for its body.

"Now, my dear Rongo, sic 'em!" Joka commanded, pointing ahead. The monster roared before rearing back on its tail and using it to jump high up and over the three. Klonoa stared at its red back thoughtfully. _I beat this thing once before, but... how? _The Rongo Lango quickly turned around and raised one of its huge claws. Guntz and Pango, who was still struggling with the bombs, scattered as the claw slammed into the ground inches away from them.

The audience cheered, feeling no threat toward themselves. Pango staggered near the side of the tent. "Big armadillo dude!" someone whispered. "His name is Pango!" someone else corrected sharply. Pango looked behind him at Nikki and Chris. "Throw one of those bombs over here!" Chris said, holding a box.

"But—"

"Just do it!"

Confused, Pango reluctantly threw a bomb toward Chris. Chris held up the box, catching the bomb inside, and immediately threw the box forward into the air. "Hmm? Wazzat?" Joka asked himself when the box landed in the arena near the Rongo Lango. It was the box of fireworks. The bomb soon fizzed out and there was a short silence.

"Uh-oh…"

Suddenly the box exploded, several lights shooting out of it. Alarmed, the monster roared and reared up. As it did so, a firework slammed into its back. Guntz and Klonoa ran out of the way as it fell forward. "Now I remember!" Klonoa suddenly yelled. "What?" Guntz asked. "We have to hit its back! That's its weak point," Klonoa replied.

"How do _you_ know?" Guntz asked almost challengingly. "I just do!" Klonoa answered quickly. _But I still need my ring,_ he thought. "Guys!" Nikki yelled from a distance behind them. When they turned around they quickly caught items that were thrown at them. "Now we're in business," Guntz grinned as he clicked his gun.

Klonoa looked back at the recovering Rongo Lango, his ring tight in his grip. "Get up, you fool!" Joka demanded. Klonoa looked around quickly, then saw Pango. "Pango! Throw one of those bombs at me!" he yelled as he started running past the monster to its back.

"Not again," Pango muttered in dismay, not enjoying throwing weapons at his friends. But he obeyed and threw a bomb toward Klonoa when he stopped. Klonoa held up his ring and shot a green light at it just before it hit him. The bomb then suddenly enlarged, as if inflated. The audience _oo_ed with interest.

Klonoa shot the ring again and the bomb was suddenly thrown at the Rongo Lang's back. It exploded just as it hit, sending the monster falling forward all over again. "Ooh! This isn't right. You weren't supposed to get your weapons back!" Joka snapped, his hands clenched. He jumped with a start when something suddenly loudly _clank_ed at the pole he was on.

"Now it's our turn!" Guntz said, pointing his gun up at the clown. The Rongo Lango was slowly getting up again when Pango threw the last of his bombs at it. They exploded and the monster fell, not getting up again. "Damn! You guys ruined everything," Joka scowled.

"You're not gonna get away this time, Joka," Guntz said. "On the contrar'," Joka replied, suddenly calm. He turned to the audience. "You've been a great audience, but now I must bid you adieu!" he said. He looked back at the three with an evil glint it his black eyes. "Don't think this is the last of me. I'm gonna use these creatures' stupidity to my advantage and eliminate this pathetic city," he chuckled, before snapping his fingers and disappearing. The Rongo Lango disappeared, as well, along with everything else. The tent, the stand, the huge cage; everything disappeared.

_Was it all an illusion to begin with?_ Klonoa wondered. The performers looked around, confused, as if just waking up. "Joka's gotten stronger," Pango frowned. "Yeah. And he's learned a few new tricks, too," Gruntz growled. "Explanation, please?" Nikki asked as she and Chris walked over.

"How 'bout after we get outta here. People are gonna start to notice," Chris suggested. Quickly, the five snuck out of the crowd and made their way for Nikki's apartment.

* * *

'bout time, eh? I finally got to finishing this chapter. Only my time and imagination knows when I'll upload the next one. Legend of Rebirth is a big project and I'm always working on that instead of this. It's kinda hard to write two stories at once... Annyway, stay tuned for chapter 8... whenever I finish it...


	9. Chapter 8: Outside

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any Klonoa characters… The others are mine, though.

* * *

**Chapter 8: Outside**

"So, let me get this straight… that clown guy was an enemy of yours you killed in… 'your world?'"

A nod.

"Then why the hell is he here?!"

"Calm down, Nikki," Chris called from the front door. Nikki was pacing around her apartment room. Guntz and Klonoa were watching from the couch. Currently, Chris was repairing the doorway, which was now badly chipped on the sides. It hadn't been easy getting Pango inside. He was occasionally coming over to ask if he could help, but Chris assured he knew what he was doing.

"That clown must've chicken out when we beat him the first time and ran off," Guntz snorted, leaning back. "Joka's good at not dying when he seems to," Klonoa said a bit absently. Nikki put a hand to her forehead. "So… is this guy dangerous?" she asked. "Duh. Or did you happen to miss that giant monster?" Guntz asked.

Nikki groaned with frustration. "Man… I can't do this… talking animals, giant monsters… it's like a TV show. I tried acting! Trust me, I suck!" Guntz and Klonoa were giving her a weird look. She sighed. "Anyway… why don't I take care of your wounds?" As if crestfallen, Nikki slowly made her way for the kitchen.

"That girl is really weird," Guntz commented when she was gone. "But we still owe her a lot," Klonoa muttered. "She's just stressed out." The two looked over to see Chris entering the living room from the hallway that led to the front door. "I've seen her like this before. She'll have a few moods swings, then calm down eventually." When he was done Nikki came back with rolls of bandages and ointment.

"Okay, who got hurt worse?" She asked in a dull voice, as if depressed. The question was mainly aimed at Guntz and Klonoa. No one volunteered. "Okay, I _know_ both of you were hurt! Now which one was hurt worse?!" Nikki suddenly snapped. The boys seemed slightly alarmed, but still kept silently.

With a heavy sighed, Nikki took Klonoa's arm and pulled him off the couch. "Sit," she demanded deeply, a shadow over her face. Klonoa immediately sat down on the wooden chair he had been led to. "You were bitten by all those piranhas, and you…" Nikki looked a Guntz, "were whipped a few times."

She had Klonoa take his shirt off and began the treatment on the several small cuts on his body. Pango watched, before commenting, "You're pretty good at that." Nikki actually smiled for the first time that day. "Thanks. Well, I wanted to become a doctor, but…" She paused, looking at nothing thoughtfully. Finally, she continued with the treatment. "That's a story better left incomplete."

Next it was Guntz' turn to get treated. "I don't need bandages for these scratches," he insisted. Nikki suddenly stood up, towering over him. "Oh yeah?! Then what'll we do when they get infected and you get seriously sick? You'll wind up slowing us down. And I'm _not_ going to take you to the hospital!" She glowered. The other three were watching silently, blinking.

In the end, Guntz reluctantly agreed to get treated. "Nikki can be quite convincing when she wants to be," Chris grinned. "No kidding…" Klonoa muttered.

By the time all that was completed, it was beginning to get dark outside. "All right, I have work tomorrow so…" Nikki's voice strayed as the looked at the three critters. "Chris, you have work tomorrow, too, right?" She asked. "I had work today…" Chris sighed. "Well, this is more important than work!"

Chris gave Nikki a weird look, but she quickly crossed her arms and looked away. "Okay… so you guys will have to stay here by yourselves. Don't make too much noise, don't _touch_ anything you're not familiar with, and don't, please God, _don't_ leave this apartment," Nikki almost begged.

With that, Chris went back home and everyone prepared for sleep. Nikki repeatedly offered the three to sleep on her couch and chair, but they stubbornly decided they rather sleep on the floor. Nikki began wondering if they even _had_ beds in "their world."

By morning Nikki repeated her "rules" and reluctantly left for work. For a while the three apathetically lounged around the apartment. It was only until Guntz spoke did things get moving. "Let's go look for Joka." Pango immediately responded. "But Nikki told us to stay here."

Guntz snorted. He looked at Klonoa, who was staring absently at his ring. He had been doing that a lot lately. "Klonoa, you were here a few days ago, right?" Klonoa quickly looked up. "Huh?" He asked. "When does that Nikki girl usually come back?" Klonoa looked outside. "By sundown, I think," he replied.

"Great." Guntz stood up from the couch. "We'll leave and be back before she even knows we're gone. Besides, what's she going to do if we leave, anyway? Punish us?" He asked. "She'll stop helping us," Klonoa replied simply. "She looks on the verge of stopping as it is," Pango added.

Guntz frowned. "Well, I'm not stay here. No one tells me what to do." He looked toward the front door. Nikki had an "alarm system" just next to it. Apparently it went off if a "code" wasn't inserted correctly when the door was opened. He didn't understand, but it was the only obvious way out.

"The window's an easy way out." Guntz looked over at the voice. Klonoa stood in front of the window on the other side of the room. He undid a latch on the top and opened it. "So now you _are_ coming?" Guntz asked. "Well, you can't possibly be trusted out here on your own," Klonoa said, already making his way over the windowsill.

"I wasn't the one that got hit by a car," Guntz replied defiantly. "And I didn't get shot by a tranquilizer. So we're both evenly unreliable out here," Klonoa smiled, by now completely outside on the fire escape. Guntz sighed helplessly.

"You guys be careful out there," Pango said, looking through the window as the boys beginning leaving down the stairs. "Sorry, Pango. We'll be back soon," Klonoa assured. "Oh, hold on." Pango suddenly left the window and came back moments later. He threw down two dark clothes. "Put these on to hide your faces."

They were the same cloaks they had worn to the circus. "Thanks, Pango!" Klonoa called. It was just afternoon as the boys put on their new attire and made it to the end of the alleyway between the apartment building they had been in and another building. Carefully, they peaked out to the sidewalk.

"I don't see anyone," Klonoa said softly, as if they were hiding. Clearly not as cautious, Guntz strolled out to clear view. He looked back at Klonoa, who stayed where he was. "Not scared, are you?" he teased. Klonoa frowned. "No. But some of these people aren't nice, you know? And those 'cars'…"

"Don't do anything to catch their attention and stay on the sidewalk," Guntz replied simply. Without looking to see if Klonoa was following, he began walking down the sidewalk. Klonoa hesitated, looking both ways as if preparing to cross the street, before briskly following him.

It wasn't long before they met more people. They all came out of nowhere, it seemed to Klonoa. All of a sudden they were swarming the streets like a flock of birds on the move. Most were taller than Guntz, making them obviously much taller then himself. Klonoa must've looked like a scared little kid shrinking from people who accidentally touched him and keeping close to Guntz.

Guntz, on the other hand, was keeping quite calm and collected. He had spent a whole day longer than Klonoa outside with these people and must've learned how best to blend with them. Though Klonoa could see his hidden irritation every time someone carelessly bumped into him.

Klonoa was so mesmerized by the amount of people around that he didn't notice a short creature make its way to him. A snort from it made him look down quickly. It was a dog, as tall as his waist. It sniffed his cloak curiously. Klonoa had stopped, making Guntz look to see what the problem was,

"It kinda looks like you, Guntz," Klonoa muttered, astonishment in his voice. Indeed it did; with its rather large pointy ears and black and brown markings. Guntz almost sounded insulted. "No it doesn't." All of a sudden the dog's ears flattened against its head and it drew its lips back.

Klonoa immediately backed up a bit as it began to growl at him. Few people were beginning to notice. Guntz quickly counter attacked with his own deep growl. To Klonoa's surprise, the dog made a quick yelp and ran off. Guntz seemed most satisfied until more growling around them could be heard. Several random dogs, most attached to leashes, apparently wanted a taste of Guntz themselves.

All at once they began making their own individual yaps and howls. This certainly wasn't keeping low. It was almost obvious at who the dogs were barking. "Dammit. C'mon." Without another warning, Guntz suddenly shot down the sidewalk. Klonoa, surprised, stumbled after him.

A few blocks later, they seemed in the clear of any aggressively curious dogs. Guntz leaned on a building, catching his breath. "Guntz, let's go back. I don't like it out here," Klonoa said, a hand gripping Guntz' sleeve. Guntz made an annoyed face. "Go back if you want. I'm not gonna stay cooped up in that place. I'm going to look for Joka and squeeze the information out of him so we can go home."

"You really think he knows how to get back to Lunatea?" Klonoa asked. "I don't know. But he seems pretty darn content in this world. So I'd say he knows something," Guntz replied. Klonoa looked hopeful, as if he hadn't thought of that or had thought worse. Maybe this really had nothing to do with his ring or his "destiny". Maybe he really could go back home.

The thought softened the stinging feeling him his mind. Though fate had never been too nice on him and doubt still lingered; but there was hope. "Okay, let's find him," Klonoa finally agreed.

"But where?"

The two had asked the question almost at once. Klonoa blinked as Guntz frowned. "Where would a small clown be hiding?" Guntz asked. "If he even is hiding. Maybe he learned a new trick to blend in," Klonoa suggested, looking around as if he expect one of the several people around them to be Joka. Guntz crossed his arms. "Great," he huffed.

Klonoa's mind then averted. He lifted his head and sniffed. "Do you smell that?" he asked. Guntz paused before replying. "Yeah. Maybe these people like playing with smoke," he said absently. "It smells like a fire; a big one," Klonoa said. "Who cares?" It was a typical reply from Guntz and Klonoa hadn't expected him to be right on the case.

"Maybe they need help," Klonoa said, looking toward the smell. In the sky he could see unnaturally darkened clouds. "So? It's none of our business," Guntz muttered. Klonoa turned to him, a small gray coin hanging from a thin chain in his fingers. "The Hero Medal makes it our business. It's our duty to protect those in need," he remarked. "Yeah, on our planet. No one ever said anything about helping others on a different planet," Guntz snorted.

"I'm sure they have heroes here," Klonoa muttered. "Than they can help themselves," Guntz said quickly. He was growing impatient. Klonoa always made a big deal about things like this. He'd always take out that now "blank" medal and make it seem like he was obliged to help everyone he could. Guntz would never help willingly. Though eighty percent of the time Klonoa won that battle.

"They can probably use all the help they can get," Klonoa said, looking toward the smoke again. "There are plenty of people around to help," Guntz muttered. "Guntz, how can you call yourself a hero if you never want to help anyone?" Klonoa asked. "I _don't_!" Guntz growled rather loudly. It was partly drowned out by a loud siren.

A large red truck sped past them, screeching its alarming call with people in yellow riding atop it. Hardly anyone looked after it as it past. Klonoa looked like he was about to run after it. "Don't you dare," Guntz growled deeply. But Klonoa had no ears for him now. He suddenly ran down the sidewalk in the direction the fire truck had gone.

"Dammit!" Guntz snapped, furious. Why did that little rabbit-cat always have to make simple things so difficult? For a moment Guntz considered just letting him go. Let him deal with his own problems he causes. But as Guntz leaned on the wall again his ear wouldn't stop twitching. "Annoying little brat…" he muttered under his breath.

Upon following the large red truck Klonoa found himself facing an unbelievably tall building. He thought it looked as if it were scraping the sky. Fire burst out of glass windows and smoke built into a large blob in the sky high above. A crowd of people were being forcefully pushed back to safety by men in black and yellow.

From the truck came a long, flat string. Upon hooking it up to a short, oddly shaped yellow object, the string thickened and water sprayed from the end, which a man was controlling. The water struck the building, barely taking out any flames. Klonoa's sensitive ears could pick up many terrified screams from inside the building.

This was a job for a hero! At least, as soon as Klonoa could find a secretive way in the building without anyone noticing him. He got closer to the crowd and pushed his way to the front. Some people down there were screaming, too. Mostly about certain people they knew still inside.

Luckily, everyone near him was too busy staring up at the building. Carefully, Klonoa ducked under the yellow line of tape that held the people back and ran behind the red truck. No one seemed to notice him. He scanned the building. The flames engulfed the bottom floor and up. It seemed the only way in was the front door.

But Klonoa wasn't _that_ blunt, or stupid. His fur would surely catch fire in less than a second. The hoes was being spayed several feet in front of him. Perfect! Klonoa suddenly ran out from behind the fire truck, catching a few people's attention. He leapt high in front of the hoes, the water striking his body.

The pressure bruised him slightly, but he ignored it as he, now soaked, landed on the ground. He heard someone yell at him to stop and saw a few people running after him. Quickly, he ran toward the burning building and jumped through a shattered window before anyone could get near him.

* * *

Took me long enough... Well, with my computer still dead I can't work on Legend of Rebirth. Luckily, I had no prewritten chapters for this story, so I decided to finally get on it again. By the way, I can't read any bit of Japanese but I saw the ending to Heroes and I'm pretty sure Klonoa's Hero Medal when back to blank for some reason. Anyway, that's the only reason it's blank here. Well, the longer my brother keep from fixing my computer, the more I'll work on this, so... expect another chapter not too far from now. 


	10. Chapter 9: Follow the Leader

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any Klonoa characters… The others are mine, though.

* * *

**Chapter 9: Follow the Leader**

Guntz had slowed his quick pace by the time he saw the enflamed building. Klonoa was no where to be seen, so he got closer. He shoved his way to the front of the crowd grouped a safe distance from the inferno. Of course, it wouldn't be safe if the building so happened to collapse.

Such a thing seemed almost inevitable. The fire had the bottom half of the building engulfed. In was impossible for anyone to get inside. At least, it seemed so. Guntz still couldn't find Klonoa and desperately hoped the blunt kid hadn't done anything stupid. A conversation by two men in black and yellow shattered that hope.

"Did you see that kid that suddenly jumped at the hoes and into the building?"

"Yeah. He's only adding to the trouble. That's saying he even survived."

"Kids these days… always trying to be the hero."

Guntz' ear was twitching. Typical. He should've guessed that at first. Klonoa never wasted any time when it came to helping people. Casually, as if it were all right, Guntz ducked under the yellow line of tape holding back the crowd and made toward the burning building.

Almost immediately someone stopped him, though. "Hey, kid, what do you think you're doing?" a stern voice asked as a strong hand gripped his arm. Guntz was in no mood. He made no effort to hide his face as he turned on the man and flashed his fangs with a loud snarl. The man, alarmed, let him go.

Guntz suddenly sprang away. He repeated Klonoa's act by jumping in front of the hoes. But, instead of leaping through a window on the bottom floor, he hopped onto the fire truck with little effort. A white ladder on it had been stretched out to reach several feet up. The men nearby, startled, had no time to stop Guntz as he ran up the ladder with surprising speed.

At the top, he jumped through a window nearby and disappeared from sight. The men could only stare in disbelieve.

Inside Klonoa quickly made his way up a flight of stairs to another floor. He stopped to catch his breath. His white fur was nearly black with soot. There was no sign of a fire where he was, though he knew by now that it could come from anywhere at any time. He didn't know what floor he was on, but he had been running up stairs for an awfully long time.

Klonoa's ears pricked at a soft sound. It sounded like voices, many of them, quiet and scared. He followed the sound to a closed door. Slowly he opened it a crack and peaked in. Inside was a crowd of people. They all sat against the wall, shivering and whimpering. To Klonoa's surprise they all looked like little kids.

"C'mon! We have to keep moving. Quite sitting there like a bunch of cowards!" a brave boy ordered, the only one standing up. The children's response was immediate.

"But the fire will get us!"

"I'm scared…"

"I want my mommy!"

The boy snorted impatiently, as if he had been doing this for a long time. Klonoa opened the door a bit more, causing someone to finally spot him. "Who's that?" a girl asked loudly. The boy looked over quickly. "Who are you?!" he demanded. To the kids, Klonoa looked like a short man under a large cloak that covered most of his body. His blackened face helped hide it from sight.

Klonoa didn't know how to reply at first. "I'm here to help," he finally said, feeling awkward. "We don't need help!" the boy said defiantly. "You're probably no older than me, anyway. What makes you think you can help?" The boy was right to think Klonoa was younger than him. He was nearly a whole inch taller.

By now Klonoa was starting to feel rather short in this world, for he had already guessed he was older than this boy, though not by much. "You can't stay here, the fire's coming. I know, I came here from the bottom floor," he warned. "Yeah, right! We're not going anywhere. We're gonna stay right here!" The boy said stubbornly. It opposed what he had been telling the children earlier.

Before Klonoa could reply the boy suddenly got closer. "Who are you, anyway?" he asked. "My name is Klonoa," Klonoa answered. The boy suddenly laughed loudly. "Klonoa?! What a weird name! And what's with that cloak? You gonna tell me it's fire-retarded?" he mocked.

_It's "fire-retardant." And I wish,_ Klonoa thought with a frown. But he avoided the question. "Come on. We have to get out of here," he prompted. The boy ignored him, looking closely at his face. "I'll bet you're part of this class! Who is that? Evan?"

"I'm here!" A boy suddenly yelled from the group, hand high.

"Mike?"

"Present!"

"Nick?"

"Here!"

Klonoa could sense the children's anxiety dying away. "Well, whoever you are, _I'm_ the leader here! You have to do what _I_ say," the boy grunted. Klonoa paused thoughtfully. "Okay. But a _real_ leader would know that staying in one place in a burning forest is the last thing you should do," he said.

"We're not in a forest," the "leader" remarked sharply. Klonoa had obviously never been in a burning building before, but he guessed fire was just as greedy wherever it was burning. "The fire will spread and reach here soon," Klonoa repeated. "I know that! That's why we're going to move. I was saying that before! We're gonna go down to the front door," the boy said loudly.

"No! That's where the fire is!" Klonoa quickly objected. The boy looked annoyed. "Than where do _you_ wanna go, smarty pants?" the boy asked. Klonoa's answer was immediate. "Up."

Somehow the boy finally agreed to go up and his loud yells encouraged the kids to stand and leave the room. The boy immediately went to the front, not allowing Klonoa to seem like the leader. Klonoa was sticking toward the middle of the group anyway, making sure no kids got left behind or lost.

A girl came toward him, smiling friendlily. "Hi!" she said happily, before suddenly introducing everyone. "I'm Susan, that's Mike, that's Evan' that's Amy…" It was almost as if she was obliged to this job. "And that's Kevin." She pointed at the "leader". Klonoa couldn't possibly remember all the names she had recited and kept his mind on only Kevin's. He feared this boy would cause more trouble later on.

Kevin suddenly stopped, causing the others to stop. Klonoa quickly made his way up front to see what the problem was. "We're gonna take an elevator instead of climbing all those stupid stairs!" Kevin announced. Klonoa stared at the two large metallic doors they had stopped in front of.

"Elevator?" he echoed. "_Duh._ Don't you know what an elevator is?" Kevin sounded as if Klonoa were committing a crime. He reached up a pressed a button almost out of his reach. It shone and after a minutes a _ding_ sounded. The doors parted, revealing a rather small square room. The children quickly ran inside.

"Come on! Or you can climb those stairs by yourself if you want," Kevin prompted to Klonoa. Klonoa wasn't so sure if he wanted to trust his life with this odd machine. But soon another _ding_ sounded and the doors began to close. Quickly, Klonoa leapt inside.

Kevin pressed a button and the elevator motioned. Klonoa could feel it lifting them higher. After a few minutes he was beginning to think that this was going to be much easier than he thought. Kevin had a smug look of satisfaction of his face. He glanced at Klonoa a few times, as if looking for some sign of defeat.

But Klonoa wasn't paying attention to that, nor had he ever been. He kept his nose up, smelling for fire. Alarm struck him when he suddenly smelt a wave of heat nearby. The elevator shivered slightly and suddenly stopped. "Stupid elevator. I guess we're gonna hafta walk the rest of the way," Kevin snorted.

The boy pressed a button on the wall and stood in front of the door. Klonoa gaped in alarm as a _ding_ sounded and the door started to open. He suddenly leapt at Kevin, shoving him to the ground away from the door. As the door opened flames suddenly reached in from where Kevin had just been.

The children screamed and pressed against the far wall in terror. Klonoa looked up at the several buttons on the nearby wall, finally pressing one he guessed was right from the picture on it. Another _ding_ came and the door slowly closed. The flames disappeared behind it, leaving the floor in front of it soot-black.

Kevin stared wide-eyed at the door, before quickly regaining his posture. "Get off of me!" he yelled, pushing Klonoa off roughly. He stood up, wiping his pants as if nothing happened. Klonoa felt it was time to teach this kid a lesson. He suddenly stood up. "This isn't a game, you know! This is real fire in a real burning building," he snapped.

"I know that!" Kevin yelled back. "Then act like it! You attitude is going to get someone killed," Klonoa rebuked. "You can't talk to me like that! I'm the leader! I'm class president. That makes me the leader! Right?" Kevin turned to the other kids.

By now they were glancing at Klonoa, clearly starting to think that he was the better leader. Kevin looked furious. "It's not about being a leader. It's about getting out of here with our skin still on our backs!" Klonoa remarked. But Kevin wouldn't listen. "I'm the leader!" The boy suddenly lunged to Klonoa out of pure frustration.

Klonoa swiftly dodged, but his loose cloak was a disadvantage. Kevin grabbed it a pulled back. It dragged Klonoa back a bit before coming free from his body completely. Kevin was about to dispose of the cloak and run for Klonoa again, but the sight stopped him in his tracks. Everyone stared at Klonoa silently, eyes wide.

Klonoa's revealed ears twitched nervously. Would they scream like those people had that other time? Would they attack him, too? He prepared for everything except for what actually happened. "It's him!" a boy suddenly said loudly, pointing. Klonoa looked at him. He was a bit shorter than himself and a few others.

"I told you! It's that rabbit guy who saved me from Bill!" he accused. Klonoa could hardly recall anything that involved this kid. "You guys didn't believe me!" the boy remarked. "Of course not, you said a rabbit beat up Bill and his gang," a girl replied. "Lookit! He really does have huge ears!" another kid said excitedly.

All at once the tension disappeared and the kids gathered around Klonoa. Kevin stayed where he was, though, staring. The children randomly threw several questions and comments at him at the same time.

"Is this a costume?"

"He's so furry!"

"What are you?"

"Are you an alien?"

"You look like my cat!"

"Do you have special powers?"

Klonoa blinked, now backed up against the wall, which was surprisingly hot. He looked at it, then at the doors. The fire was still out there, and it was only getting hotter in here. They had to do something. "Questions later. We have to get this thing moving again," he quickly said.

A kid turned to the button-filled wall. "Up," he said, pressing a button. But it didn't move. He paused. "Down?" He pressed a different button. The elevator shifted, then slowly started moving down. It stopped after a few seconds and opened. To Klonoa's relief there was no fire here, only smoke. They were probably only a floor below the blaze.

"Come on. We have to get to the stairs. Hopefully there's no fire there," Klonoa prompted. The kids obeyed without a word, though Kevin seemed a bit unhappy. For once the arrogant boy wasn't saying anything. The children automatically kept their heads low as they traveled through the smoke.

Klonoa's sensitive eyes were becoming watery from the smog, but he forced himself to look around for the stairs. It wasn't long before he found the familiar heavy door that distinctively led the whole set of stairs on every floor. He carefully put his hand on the silver knob, relieved that it wasn't hot. He pulled it open, motioning all the kids to go in first.

The smoke was becoming threateningly thick as they traveled up. Klonoa pushed his way to the front, not wanting any children to run into the flames that felt so close. "I can't breathe!" a kid complained. "My throat hurts!" Klonoa couldn't afford to attend to them. They'd all suffocate if they didn't get to a clear floor soon.

The whole staircase suddenly vibrated. Klonoa could hear something heavy falling from high above. He looked up the spiral of stairs, alarmed to see large rubble falling straight towards them. "Get back!" he yelled, pushing the kids down the stairs as best he could. A few tripped and fell, but it was better than being crush.

Dust filled the air as the huge piece of cement crashed into and right through the stairs in front of them. When Klonoa thought it was safe to open his eyes without sharp fragments flying in them, he was shocked to see that the stairs in front of them had been demolished. Like a broken bridge, a wide gap stopped the group from traveling further up the stairs.

_We're trapped!_

* * *

I love playing with Klonoa's personality. He can act like such a kid under normal circumstances, but when it comes to helping people he becomes so mature. He makes a pretty good leader when it comes down to it. Or maybe it's just because he's dealing with a bunch of kids…? -shrugs- Anyway, stick around for the next chapter which I've yet to give a name! 


	11. Chapter 10: Towering Inferno

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any Klonoa characters… The others are mine, though.

* * *

**Chapter 10: Towering Inferno**

Klonoa stared wide-eyed at the wide gap that blocked him and the children from progressing up the stairs. The rubble that had caused the damaged had come to a crashing stop on the last flight of stairs on the bottom floor. No one was getting in that way anymore.

The children behind Klonoa whimpered in fear and pain. The smoke was only getting worse. Klonoa's mind mingled for a solution. Actually, it was a jump he could probably make with a running start. But who said these children were as athletic as him? He couldn't imagine them making it across. And he wasn't going to risk losing some in the attempt.

"We're all gonna die!" a child wailed. A few others began crying, as well. "No we're not!" Klonoa objected, desperately trying to stop them from panicking. Though, to a normal person, all hope did seem lost. But Klonoa certainly wasn't a normal person. No matter how desperate the situation got, he knew there was _always_ a solution. If that wasn't true, he certainly wouldn't be alive today.

A dim emerald light caught his attention. Klonoa looked down at his oversized ring. It was like it was telling him something. And Klonoa understood. _No! I can't just throw these kids over. Besides... I don't think they'll inflate like moos..._ He looked behind him at the terribly frightened children.

They all stared at him with big, desperate eyes. Their lives were in his hands. Klonoa had volunteered to do this job and now he had to finish it. He couldn't let them down. He was a hero! But he knew being a hero was never easy. Sometimes it meant making sacrifices if it meant better for everyone else. But Klonoa didn't work like that. Everyone would get out of this alive!

A thought then struck his mind. He looked at the rest of the stairs past the gap, examining how far the empty distance was. _There's no other way. It'll take a while, but at least no one will get hurt. _Klonoa turned to the children, trying to put on the best assured smile he could. "Listen. I'm going to fly you guys over."

The children stared at him wide-eyed in disbelief. "You can _fly_?" a kid asked incredulously. "Well… no. But my ears can kind of act like wings… for a very short amount of time." Klonoa's voice was starting to reveal his doubt. He quickly tried to cover it. "If I hover you guys over one at a time, we'll be able to keep going and get out of this smoke."

The children still seemed doubtful. "Then you guys can go home and see your parents." They seemed to brighten slightly at the words. How desperately they wanted to return to their safe homes and hug their mothers and fathers. The thought soothed Klonoa a bit, as well. Though he never had any parents or a real home to return to. His friends were his family.

The thought of Guntz suddenly struck his mind. He had completely forgotten about the wolf-dog after following that fire truck. But he couldn't recall him following him and assumed he was still outside where it was safe. So much for leaving and coming right back to Nikki's apartment unnoticed, though.

"Come on," Klonoa prompted, holding out a hand. His voice was growing hoarse from all the smoke. The children hesitated. "We have to keep moving! If we don't the fire will reach us or we'll all suffocate before!" There was no time for assurances and soothing words. The truth was the only way to get these kids to move fast enough.

Finally a boy took his hand, bravely, though frightened, volunteering to be the first to go. Klonoa would be lying if he said he wasn't frightened, as well. This was going to be hard. Some of these kids were bigger than he was. He could only put so much energy into his ears for so long.

Klonoa decided the best way to ensure getting across was to make a running start. "You ready?" he asked the boy. He shook his head. "Me neither. Let's go." With that, he ran until the stairs ended and made the best leapt he could, the child clutching to his clothes tightly.

As soon as it seemed that the leap wouldn't bring them any farther and they began to descend, Klonoa desperately flapped his long, thick ears. It seemed harder now than he remember, obviously because he had extra weight. But he couldn't give up. After what seemed like forever to him, but was probably only a few seconds, the first step of the new stairs was barely under them.

Klonoa let his ears go limp, following immediately a rush of fatigue, and landed just at the edge of the stairs. The boy hardly seemed to realize they were back on land before finally letting go. Klonoa was out of breath, the smoke no help to regain his energy. He looked back at the expectant kids. Only about 15 more to go…

Klonoa let himself fall on the hard stairs after what felt like hours of individually carrying each kid over the gap. In reality he had acted quite quick, ignoring his aching ears, and wasted little time getting his energy back after each kid. But now he felt like he couldn't move another inch. The children stared at him expectantly, waiting for him to do something.

Klonoa forced himself to his feet, took another second to catch his breath, and stood up straight. "Okay… let's go," he breathed.

The group managed to get past the flame-engulfed floor without a problem. The fire had yet to make it inside the staircase room. They made up past the steaming door that led to the inferno and up to the next floor. The smoke barely lessened there and Klonoa decided it was time to get some decently fresh air before they all suffocated.

Going up a room higher for safety, Klonoa led the kids out of the smoke-filled staircase and into a seemingly clear room. The kids, apparently feeling quite safe, immediately sat themselves down in the hallway to rest. Klonoa had yet to even have an inkling for what this building was for. Each room was a little different than the last.

Some children were dozing off and Klonoa knew he couldn't let them get too comfortable, as much as he needed to rest himself. "We have to keep going," he wheezed quietly. The children made unhappy moans, but eventually got up again. They reluctantly returned to the staircase and moved upward again.

The rubble that had fallen earlier left little damaged further up, though the railing protecting them from falling off had been removed after a few floors. "Be careful," Klonoa warned. The children were huddling close, some dangerously close to the edge of the stairs. Their awkward positions made their movements a bit staggered.

One kid's foot slipped off slightly, but he quickly regained his balance. "I said be careful!" Klonoa scolded sharply. But apparently words were not enough to keep these kids in order. Another kid slipped, but this time she didn't regain her balance again. With a shrilled scream, she fell from the staircase.

"No!"

Klonoa was too far away to catch her even if he had acted fast enough. The other children screamed as the girl fell into the smoked abyss. But the girl's terrified screech was cut short. She was hanging only two floors below them by her jacket scruff. Something had caught her.

"This thing belong to you?"

The voice almost relieved Klonoa to tears.

"Guntz!"

The kids were more speechless this time as Guntz reached the short group, letting the girl down to tearfully return to her friends. Klonoa ran down to Guntz with a big smile. "How did you get here?" he asked breathlessly. But Guntz didn't answer. Instead he frowned. "You don't look so good."

Klonoa didn't even realize until he mentioned it. His throat was killing him, his eyes burned, his nose stung, and he could barely breathe. But his reply was expected. "I'm fine," Klonoa insisted. Guntz looked like he was about to say more, but the children interrupted him.

"Are you an alien, too?"

"You look like a Pokémon!"

"Can you fly with your ears?"

"You look like my German Shepherd."

Guntz blinked. "What?" They were starting to forget their circumstances. "Come on. We still have to get out of here," Klonoa prompted.

Guntz had no better opinion than to travel up to get out. Though he warned Klonoa quietly that the building was ready to collapse at any moment, as not to frighten the children. This time Guntz took the lead and Klonoa stayed at the tail of the group. This way they'd be ready for any problems no matter which side of the group it came from.

Smoking doors were past swiftly and clear areas were taken advantage of to rest quickly. They managed to go up quite a few floors before the next problem occurred. As they past a certain door one child said she heard something. Klonoa's mind seemed to be the only sense that wasn't failing him, and he hadn't heard a thing.

Upon listening closely, Guntz confirmed that the sound was voices. The door was jammed shut and they could hear the voices on the other side calling for help. Guntz had become the new "leader" since arriving, a job Klonoa was happy to give up, and quickly came up with an idea.

"All right. Stand back, I'm gonna shoot the door down!" he called through the door. "You guys, too," he said to the group of kids. Guntz took out a pair of guns from his belt, which, to the kids, looked like plastic toys, as they all backed up. They certainly didn't act like plastic toys, though, as Guntz fire the strong bullets into the door.

After several shots, the door was dented and finally fell forward. Guntz jumped out of the way before it slammed down to the staircase. There were three people in the room, all adults, though they looked as frightened as the children. They stared bewildered at Guntz.

"What? You were expecting a knight in shinning armor? Let's go!" he prompted impatiently. The children followed Guntz as he kept moving, the adults not following until Klonoa uneasily past them in the back. They kept a cautious distance in the back, as if afraid Klonoa would attack them in they got too close.

"We're almost there," Guntz sighed after a long while of climbing. He could see the last set of stairs above them. "Why the hell do these people make such huge buildings?" He muttered to himself. "Mr. Doggy! Mr. Doggy!" Guntz twitched an ear irritably and looked back at a girl who was running toward him. "The bunny fell down!" she said quickly. Guntz frowned. "What?"

"Klonoa!" Guntz quickly sped down the stairs to where the "bunny" was just struggling back to his feel. He was wheezing and coughing harshly. The three adults in the back didn't dare to assist him. "I'll be… fine," Klonoa gasped when Guntz reached him. "You're _not_ fine," Guntz insisted. Klonoa's eyes were watery and his nose was black with soot. He had been exposed to the smoke way too long. Exhausting himself certainly hadn't been helping, either.

A girl tugged Guntz' sleeve. "Is the bunny gonna die?" But he didn't reply. "Come on, we're almost there," he encouraged, helping Klonoa to his shaky feet. The children started moving up again, leading themselves with Guntz busy making sure Klonoa didn't collapse again. They started getting rowdy as their exit slowly came closer.

Excited, the kids quickened their pace. When they finally reached the door they worked together to heave the heavy steel plate open. Like ants they scattered on the roof, acting as if they had escaped the fire altogether. Guntz looked around as he and Klonoa got out, the adults following. The fresh air felt wonderful, but their problems were far from over.

"Now what?" Guntz asked himself quietly. The children, apparently realizing their mistake in getting overexcited, grouped together again and looked at Guntz and Klonoa expectantly. Exhausted, Klonoa slumped to a hard sit on the stone roof, catching his breath. Guntz quickly left his side to look over the side of the building.

He coughed as smoke flying upward smothered in his face. He could barely see anything on the ground so many stories down. "Stupid tall buildings," he cursed under his breath. Barely over the cracking fire could Guntz hear the sirens and yelling of the crowd below. But surely if he couldn't see them, they couldn't see him.

Thinking fast, Guntz lifted his muzzle and let out an echoing howl. The children _oo_ed with awe. Now Guntz could hear the shrill barking of a few dogs. There had been oddly spotted black and white dogs there before, though they had been too far away to notice him. Hopefully now they'd get some attention up there.

But time was scarce. The whole building suddenly shuddered, causing the children to tumble over each other like dominos. This thing was ready to collapse at any moment. "Over here!" The unfamiliar yell caught Guntz off guard, especially its closeness. Looking over he saw several young men on top of a building neighboring the one they were on.

The men were concentrated on sliding a long wooden board from the edge of their roof to this one. "Climb—" The man speaking was cut off when he finally looked at Guntz. Guntz impatiently ignored his weird stare and turned to the kids. "Hey, brats! Get over here!" he called.

Immediately the children were at his side. "Climb over this to the other side," he instructed. The children hesitated, but Guntz gave them no time to ready themselves. "Hurry up!" His impatient bark made them jump. And so the children began their slow, seemingly endless trek to the neighboring building.

* * *

Urgh… so tired… can't type… anymore… 


	12. Chapter 11: Hardly Grateful

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any Klonoa characters… The others are mine, though.

* * *

**Chapter 11: Hardly Grateful**It wasn't long before all the children had made it across the thin board to the building neighboring the inferno. Then it was the adults' turn. They hesitated longer than the children. But a sharp bark from Guntz got them going. "Come on!" Why did these people always have to think so much before acting? 

The three adults took their time crossing, each with a different style. The first simply walked; the second actually jumped, almost causing him to fall when he didn't exactly make it all the way across; and the last carefully crawled. Soon everyone but Guntz and Klonoa were over without any casualties.

The three young men holding the board in place didn't move. Guntz twitched his ear uneasily as a paused passed with them just staring at each other. It wasn't until one of the men spoke up that something happened.

"This building won't hold forever."

Though it was hesitant and uncertain, it was enough to assure Guntz that the board would still be there when he came back. He turned around and went to Klonoa, who was sitting, his back leaning tiredly on the door they had come out from. He looked exhausted and ready to faint at any moment, but he was conscious enough to look up at Guntz when he got closer.

"Come on. We have to go," Guntz insisted. He took Klonoa's arm and pulled him to his shaky feet. They barely had a chance to turn around before the building made a violent quaver, causing the two to fall over. The men holding the board lost their grip, causing the piece of wood to fall into the smoky abyss below.

The situation seemed hopeless, at least to their eyes. Though they weren't sure whether to be disappointed or relieved. But Guntz and Klonoa seemed to have no fear of the fallen bridge. "Can you make it?" Guntz asked, giving his ill companion a side-glance. Klonoa took a deep breath before hoarsely replying. "Yeah."

The children were making a ruckus, just realizing the situation.

"What about the bunny and doggy?"

"Go save Mr. Doggy and the bunny!"

The young men barely had time to even try to calm the children down before something distracted them. A shadow flew over them from above. A second later the black figure of Klonoa landed the roof several feet behind them. His landing was unsteady, though, and resulted in him falling face-first.

It wasn't long before another figure landed on the building nearby in the same fashion, though his landed was much more elegant. Guntz quickly went to Klonoa as he weakly got into a sitting position. Despite it all, the cat-rabbit managed to make a bright smile, causing Guntz to make an exasperating sigh.

This was all before the children swarmed them with comments on how cool their jump was.

---

"So… you're an alien, right?"

The group of survivors were now headed downward the safe building to the crowd that awaited them on the ground. Curiosity of the young men who had rescued them drowned out their uneasiness soon after leaving the roof to go inside. Currently, they were asking more questions than the children had. Klonoa's reply especially got them excited.

"No... I'm a human."

"That's impossible!"

"You look nothing like a human!"

Klonoa might've taken those words slightly offensive if he weren't already to busy keeping to his weak feet and hiding his pain. Guntz kept looking at him, though. But he was determined to at least make it back to Nikki's apartment before giving into his fatigue.

Going down stairs was surprisingly easier and faster than going up. It wasn't long before they were passing the threshold to fresh air and countless loudly murmuring people. The crowd outside had gotten bigger over time. It seemed the ridiculously tall burning building was still standing, somehow. Flames could no longer be seen reaching out of windows, but black smoke still swelled the air above.

The thrilled cry of the children immediately caught a portion of the crowd's attention. Guntz made no effort to control the kids as they ran off to find their parents. Klonoa's vision was starting to blur. All he saw were the colorful, short figures running away, soon to be out of his poor view.

The crowd was all around them and the rest of the group still together had no choice but to travel right through it. By the time they had reached what seemed like the center, everyone had backed away, staring at the two boys as if they had guns. Of course, Guntz did, but they hardly looked like more than toy water guns to their eyes.

A fire truck was nearby. Guntz was carefully formulating a plan on how they'd swiftly get out of this crowd and back to the apartment without any trouble. Klonoa could sense the crowd slowly inching closer. Though his ears were sensitive and usually always picked any sound clearly no matter how far, he could barely point out any words out of the mingled murmuring and whispers.

Klonoa turned around, suddenly finding that Guntz was no longer close enough for him to clearly see. He hardly got the greeting he was looking for as he got only one part of Guntz' name out of his mouth. Loud yells suddenly started behind him, sounding mostly like commands. A second later Klonoa felt something small, sharp stab into his shoulder. Immediately following after, an unexpected amount of pressure body slammed into him and shoved him face-first onto the hard ground.

Guntz didn't realize what was happening until the yelling became more urgent and he heard a muffled cry from Klonoa. He turned around just quickly enough to narrowly dodge what looked like a bullet. Unable to piece the ground, the object shot at him became clearly visible. It was a tranquilizer dart.

Guntz staggered back in alarm. These were those same heavily dressed men that attacked him only a few days ago. Their whole bodies were covered, as if they were planning on going into a fire. One was on top of Klonoa, keeping his whole body tightly under him as if his life depended on it.

The darts were surprisingly easy to dodge when you could actually see them. Five were wasted by the time Guntz finally decided to counterattack. He took out the guns from his belt and targeted them forward. The men hesitated, not sure what to expect from such strange looking guns.

"N-No… Guntz, stop—" Klonoa's words were barely audible and were cut short after the man on top of him tightly gripped one of his long ears to shut him up. A growl rumbled in Guntz' throat. He knew Klonoa was right. The last thing they wanted to do was prove these men right by making themselves a threat. He thought quick.

Guntz could easily get away by jumping on and over the fire truck several feet behind him. But he had to get Klonoa first. How the hell would he do that without hurting these men? Klonoa's ring, which was out in plain view in his hand as he struggled, started to glow. It soon became blindingly bright and the man above had to cover his eyes.

Klonoa managed to struggle out from under him in this moment of confusion. The light was suddenly got and the man, realizing what had happened, bared his gun. Guntz was there in a flash, snapping his fangs over the barrel of the gun, knocking out of the surprised man's grip.

As the surrounding, heavily armored men began wildly shooting their guns, Guntz and Klonoa quickly made for the fire truck behind them. Klonoa managed to get another dart stuck in him as Guntz was just leaping onto the vehicle. The cat-rabbit fell to the ground again, unable to pick himself back up.

The men around swarmed in and Guntz hesitated as now two people restrained Klonoa, who was no longer struggling anyway. He twitched as a poorly aimed dart was fired up at him. He waited a moment longer as more of the men pointed their guns upward, ready to fire. With a low growl, he suddenly spun around.

Before the men knew it Guntz had jumped off the other side of the truck and was now out of their view. The crowd made way swiftly as Guntz sped past them with amazing speed and was soon gone. He had gotten away from the heavily armored agents again, but this time their efforts weren't a complete waste.

A man held Klonoa's limp body up by the scruff of his shirt, as if he were a doll. "Now we can finally see just what these freak-shows are," he said, his voice a bit muffled under his mask. Sudden, loud yelling nearby made the men stagger back in surprise.

"What are you doing?!"

"Leave him alone!"

"Don't hurt the bunny!"

The children were grouped together again and now ganging up on the man holding Klonoa. "Back off, brats. This thing is dangerous," another man warned, roughly pushing a kid back with the barrel of his gun. This, naturally, made several adults upset. A ruckus was slowly beginning to arise.

Another man, dressed slightly differently than the others, suddenly lifted his gun at the crowd, knowing all too well how easily uproars were started in this city. "Shut up!" There was silence. "We were commanded by the mayor to confiscate these little monsters. Call us exterminators, if you will. Free of charge, so don't get in our way!"

He let out a warning shot in the air. Obviously his gun wasn't for tranquilizing. No one objected, though low murmuring echoed through the air. The children were quickly gathered up by their parents and pulled away to safety. The man with a rifle, apparently commander of the group of the heavily dressed men, waved a hand simply. As if on cue, the rest of them turned to leave to whence they came. Only one voice bothered to try and stop them.

"They're not monsters."

The commander turned around. It was one of the young men from before. He stood determinedly out of the crowd. "They saved all those kids from this fire," he said. The commander was unmoved. "I'll bet they _started_ the fire," he said in a dull voice. "He said himself he's human," another one of the young men spoke, regarding Klonoa.

The commander chuckled quietly. He suddenly turned around to the man holding Klonoa. "Does this look like a human to you?!" He snatched Klonoa and held him up by an ear for all to see. Klonoa's narrowed eyes suddenly snapped open and, with a rather odd snarl, his teeth were clamped around the man's arm. But, despite his sharp fangs, the commander's suit was too thick to pierce through.

The man didn't move, letting Klonoa hang. "See? Anything with teeth like that is only a savage. Like every other disgusting beast on this planet," he grimaced. He turned to his men. "Get this _thing_ off of me," he ordered. With another dart shot into his back, Klonoa's grip loosened and he felt to the ground.

The commander nonchalantly turned around and stomped off. "I want that beast put in a muzzle," he said as he left.

* * *

A little short, but it seemed the best place to end it. I'm trying to finish this quickly. I've yet again thought up another "series"(tis what I call lengthy fanfics) I'm too anxious to wait to start… I need to control myself. 

I'm starting to become a serious K/G fan, so you can expect a bit of that(not here, though)...

Fandoms are contagious.


	13. Chapter 12: Tremors

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any Klonoa characters… The others are mine, though.

* * *

**Chapter 12: Tremors**

"What do you mean they _left_?!"

It was past sundown and Nikki hadn't exactly gotten the greeting she was expecting when she returned home. Pango was desperately trying to calm the stressed girl down. "I'm sure they're fine… though they did say they'd be back before sundown." He didn't say the last part quiet enough as Nikki made a loud, exasperated groan.

"I thought I told you guys not to leave?" She said. "Well… when Guntz gets restless there's really no stopping him," Pango admitted. "And what about Klonoa?" Nikki asked. "Klonoa intentionally went to make sure Guntz didn't get into any trouble. I'm sure they're fine together," Pango assured.

It was then that something could be heard outside the window, like someone climbing up the squeaky fire escape. "Ah, I'm sure that's them now," Pango remarked. "It'd better be," Nikki grumbled with a glower. It was Guntz, that was for sure. But he seemed in such a rush that he couldn't get through the window properly.

Nikki and Pango blinked with surprise as he nearly tumbled through the window. "Guntz, what happened?" Pango asked incredulously, noticing the dark splotches of soot and dirt on his fur. "Why did you leave?!" Nikki could barely control herself as she grabbed Guntz' mane fur roughly as he was trying to stand up. "Where's Klonoa?" Pango then asked.

Guntz was so out of breath he could hardly begin…

---

"So you just left him there?"

Guntz was getting pretty annoyed by now. Nikki had had something to say to just about every part of the story, starting with when they had run into a dog. Now he was finished and she wasn't making anything any easier. "What was I supposed to do? Fight them and get caught myself?" Guntz argued.

"Well, you could've done something better than just _abandoning_ him," Nikki replied. Guntz twitched at the word. "And it was your fault to begin with," she added criticizingly. "If you hadn't been so 'restless,' none of this would've happened. Now we've got even more problems to deal with. Who knows what they'll do to him? I'll bet—" Pango interrupted her long scowl. "Miss Nikki…" he mumbled softly.

Guntz was looking down. "You think it was easy for me to just run away?" He looked at her. "I know it's all my fault, okay?" He said strongly. Nikki paused and sighed to calm herself down. "Okay, okay," she muttered quietly. "Well… what are we going to do now?" She asked.

"Go rescue him," Guntz and Pango replied at once. Nikki blinked. "But we don't even know where he is," Pango remarked. Nikki twitched. "But I know someone who does," she smirked.

---

It was dark, other than the bright light shinning in his face. The scents around him were dull and hard to distinguish. The voices surrounding him echoed off the walls. It was a little hard to breathe and his throat hurt, but he hardly noticed. He could feel himself bonded, unable to move. Not that he had the energy to, anyway.

Half conscious, Klonoa listened to the blurred voices around him.

"Sir, we managed to capture one of the creatures. The other got away," a voice close to him spoke. "And I'm led to believe there are three in total?" an older voice asked. "Yes. Maybe more," the first one replied. Whatever the older voice said back was blurred out by Klonoa's failing ears.

"We should hope so. It was shot with three tranquilizer darts," the closer voice answered. "Well, be careful. We don't know what these creatures can do," the older voice warned. "What should we do with it?" the first voice asked. Before the older voice could reply, a new voice spoke up. "Permission to speak, sir?" he asked respectfully. "Granted," the older replied professionally.

"I believe it is foolish to just wait for these things to do something. They could be extremely dangerous. I think a few hand selected scientists should experiment on this creature. See what it is, where it came from, how it got here," the new voice declared. "Are you suggesting these creatures came from… outer space?" the older asked incredulously.

"I'm just saying we should expect anything. Such strange looking things… One stopped a truck in motion," the new voice suggested. "I see… Then it is settle. This creature shall be diagnosed and classified for as much information as possible. But… I know how reckless scientists can be. Make sure they don't kill it," the older voice concluded.

"Yes, sir," the voice closer to Klonoa replied.

---

"Yes… No. The _mayor._ I want to speak to the mayor."

Nikki sighed as she stood in front of her phone. Guntz and Pango watched for what seemed like hours for the person she was calling to even get on the line. Nikki suddenly straightened. "Hey! It's me, dad," she said brightly. She then quickly frowned with annoyance. "Who do you think? Your daughter!" she snapped. She then paused.

"No… No, I don't want any money, dad! It's about those… creatures from before." Nikki made a careful glance at the two behind her, hoping the term wouldn't offend them. It didn't seem to. They had been called "creatures" since coming to this planet and were getting used to it.

"Yeah, I know. They caught one today, right?" Nikki silenced for the reply. "N-No! It's just… Well, you know. Information travels fast in New York City," she explained hesitantly. "Well… I was wondering… where it is right now?" she asked. A pause. "No reason. I just wanna know. I want to… see what it looks like," she said carefully.

"…What a stupid question! You know I hate animals, dad! Why would I want it as a pet?" Nikki asked loudly. Pango and Guntz exchanged glances as they heard the loud laughing coming from the phone. Nikki then twitched, looking around quickly. "O-Okay," she stammered, scurrying around until she found a pen and paper.

With the phone stuck between the side of her head and shoulder, she bent over on the small table in front of her and began writing. "Wow…" she muttered when she was done, looking at the paper. "That's practically on the other side of the city!" Nikki exclaimed. With another pause, she muttered, "I guess…"

"No, dad! For the last time I don't want any money!" She suddenly yelled. More laughter could be heard. "What? How mean! Why ask me if you're not going to give it to me in the first place?" Nikki asked. A pause. "Well, I'm sure you should get back to your paperwork, 'cause_ I_ don't need you anymore!" Another quick pause. "Good bye!"

The phone slammed down and Nikki let out a loud sigh, her back to Pango and Guntz. She suddenly turned around with a bright smile, a piece of paper in her hand. "I got it!"

---

Klonoa couldn't remember anything past the echoing conversation in that eerie, scentless room. The irresistible urge to sleep had overcome him. Now he was coming to again, this time somewhere else. The scents were much stronger here. Despite his weak sense of smell at the moment, the stench of chemicals burned his nose.

Even though, it was surprisingly easy to breathe. Something was in his mouth, making him want to gag. The air he was breathing in didn't seem natural and made him sleepy. But this time he was able to resist, though only a little. He could hear people around him again. They seemed different, somehow.

Things poked at him and sometimes he'd feel a sharp pain, like a tiny needle stabbing into his body. But something else had his attention. A different smell, almost drowned away by the stench of the acidy liquids. The scent of fear, blood, and death. Klonoa could feel himself lying on a hard, cold, metallic surface.

Things had died on this table, in this room. Things had bled on it so much that the scent was forever stained into it. Things had been so scared that their fear scent permanently lingered in the air. Klonoa tried to open his eyes, but found it surprisingly hard.

"Its heart rate is increasing," came a feminine voice. "I think it's waking up," said another voice, alarmed. "That's impossible," argued another voice. Apparently the people around Klonoa had noticed him twitching, for the previous voice spoke up again after a pause.

"All right. Increase the level of anesthesia," he ordered. "But, doctor, that's dangerous," a new voice warned. "We don't want this thing waking up, do we?!" the "doctor" asked loudly. There was a murmur of agreement and soon the strange air Klonoa was breathing in became stronger. Before long sleep overcame him again and everything was blurred out.

---

"Great… Now what?"

Sure, Nikki had gotten the address of the place Klonoa was being kept, but now they needed to figure out just how to get there. Currently the three were standing outside of her apartment building, Guntz and Pango covered in new cloaks that didn't nearly hide their bodies as well as the other ones had—which had been lost by Guntz and Klonoa in the fire.

Good thing it was night and too dark to see much detail of anything. Guntz made a low growl of impatience. "What the hell are we doing just standing around here?!" he suddenly snapped. "I'm trying to think, okay?! I don't have a car. We can't take a cab because Pango won't fit—" Nikki tried her best not to sound offensive to the pangolin, "let alone a bus…" She sighed.

"Then let's just walk there," Guntz said. "Are you nuts?! It's nearly on the other side of town! It'd take forever to get there," Nikki objected. "Standing around here isn't getting us there any faster. If you're not willing to walk, then I will," Guntz declared. But, before he could barely take a step forward, let alone could anyone reply, the ground suddenly shook from under their feet.

It was gone within a few seconds, but it seemed like forever while it was happening. "W-Was that an earthquake?" Nikki stammered. She had never experienced one herself and had honestly thought them much scarier. Recovering from the shock, the group of three watched as the cars on the road, which had all suddenly stopped, started moving again.

The three exchanged glances, possibly all thinking the same thing. Perhaps it had never happened at all? But they were proved wrong when another tremor occurred, noticeably a bit longer than the last. Again cars stopped dead in their tracks, causing several horns to blow in aggravation.

But Nikki noticed something. Weren't earthquake supposed to cause the earth to break apart, thus resulting in cracked roads and collapsing buildings? She supposed that depended on how strong they were, but these earthquakes seemed suspiciously harmless. It was as if the city was literally trembling.

"Nikki!"

The voice made the three look one way. A van swerved off the road and stopped beside the sidewalk in front of the group. The familiar head of a young man was sticking out the front seat window. "Did you guys feel that?" Chris asked incredulously. "Chris…" Nikki murmured, baffled for a moment. "That's it! I forgot about your junky, old van," she suddenly said, slamming a fist onto her palm in realization.

Chris couldn't help but take in the insult. "Well, you remember. It was on sale and stuff—" But Nikki wasn't listening. "You two, get in the back." Without even waiting to see if Guntz and Pango obeyed her orders, she ran around the van and came in the passenger seat.

"We have to go here," she said quickly, shoving a small piece of paper into the dumbfounded Chris' hands. "But… this is nearly on the other side of the city!" he suddenly said. "I know. But we have get there," Nikki insisted. Before Chris could reply, a window between their two seats suddenly opened and Guntz' face appeared.

"What the hell? It smells back here," he complained from the back of the van. "I'm sorry. My dog gets carsick when I drive her places… Actually, she looks kinda like you." Chris' comment made Guntz' grimace turn to annoyance. Nikki was also becoming annoyed. "Come on! We have to hurry," she prompted. "Okay, okay," Chris murmured, starting up his van.

Traffic was much slower than it had been moments before. Several accidents had occurred due to people stopping short from the tremors and rear-ending each other. There were many detours and eventually the inevitable came…

"I have no idea where we are," Chris muttered, looking around as they drove down an unfamiliar street. "Man! We've probably driven halfway across the city by now, but who knows if we're even going the right way? Don't you have a map?" Nikki asked quickly, stressed out all over again.

Suddenly, another earthquake came before Chris could reply. Reflexively he stomped on the brakes, causing the two in front to jerk forward and Guntz to hit his head on the window. "Son of a—" he growled. "Are you okay, Guntz?" Pango could be heard asking in the back.

"This is getting kind of scary," Nikki admitted quietly. Another accident had occurred quite close to them, resulting in two cars getting rear-ended. Chris reached for the radio and shifted the small knob for a station, hoping to shed some light on his long moment of confusion.

For once it was up-to-date and they were speaking just of the earthquakes. "It would seem that several, unpredictable tremors are occurring in New York City alone. Even earthquake experts are baffled by these events and cannot predict when another will occur or when they will stop. It is suggested—"

The voice on the radio turned to static as another tremor came. "Shit!" Guntz could be heard snarling when it was over, right after a rather loud _clank_ on the side of the van. "Maybe you should sit still, Guntz," Pango suggested, trying to stop his companion from getting a concussion.

"This is getting serious," Chris murmured as they past a huge sign that had recently fallen from a building. An unfortunate car was caught beneath it and it blocked a road, leaving several cars behind it stuck. The radio soon came back on and the announcer was repeating what he had said before. "…will stop. It is suggested that everyone keep safety precautions and stay off the roads. Further information will be given when it is received."

Chris turned off the radio when the announcement was again repeating. "Is this _normal_?" Guntz asked loudly. "Of course not!" Nikki snapped. "It's kind of strange, don't you think?" Chris asked quietly, interrupting their bickering. "That guy made it seem like these earthquakes are _only_ happening here in New York City. Doesn't that seem odd?" he explained.

"I don't know. I guess," Nikki shrugged. Just as she finished speaking another earthquake started up. Chris again stomped on the brakes, but at the worst place. They were right under a stoplight, in the middle of an intersection. A car, its brakes put on just too late, was skidding toward them. Nikki saw it just in time to yell. "Watch out!"

The vehicles struck each other, making an ear-shattering screech of metal colliding and shattering.

* * *

Bad place to end it, but… lately I've been getting the feeling that chapters don't like me… Anyway… I'm having some serious writer's block with this... I guess _Legend of Rebirth_ is taking up all my thinking time right now, and school, which starts tomorrow... -shutters- 


	14. Chapter 13: Dream Traveler

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any Klonoa characters… The others are mine, though.

* * *

**Chapter 13: Dream Traveler **

Klonoa couldn't tell whether he was unconscious or not. It was a strange yet oddly familiar place. But everything was dark and blurred. Perhaps he was in his own mind. A voice was speaking. It was murmured at first and incomprehensible. But Klonoa recognized it immediately.

It was the same strange, light voice that had spoken to him so many times before. It had led him through hard times and helped him with certain decisions. It wasn't speaking a normal language. It didn't even sound like a language at all. It came as murmured whispers. But somehow Klonoa could understand it.

He had to wake up. Something bad was going to happen soon and this world would fall under peril. It was his job to stop that from happening. The whispering soon faded out, replaced with the harsh in comparison voices from several people around him. He was still in that strongly scented room on a cold, metal table.

Klonoa couldn't feel his ring in his hand. He opened his eyes, his visions blurred for a few moments. He shifted, finally catching the people's attention. They backed away in surprise. "It's awake!" someone yelled in alarm. "Is that anesthesia even working at all?!" a man asked harshly.

Klonoa could see fine by now. He quickly sat up, coughing out a strange tube that had been blowing air in his mouth. He didn't even mind the startled people dressed in white around him. He had to find his ring. He jumped off the table, finding his legs much stronger than they had been before.

No one dared to stop him as he ran toward the door. They seemed surprised to see him so easily open it before he disappeared. Klonoa ran across the shiny, clean, and somewhat slippery floor through a hall. He past several doors, but didn't bother checking them. He knew where his ring was, he could feel it.

He then slid to a stop in front of a door. He quickly opened it to find several shelves of strange objects inside. Some were slimy and some were mechanic. It was only until he noticed an emerald light shining in the dim room did he find what he was looking for. Klonoa snatched up his oversized ring, which had been carelessly placed on a shelf.

He could hear yelling outside. Clearly word was getting out of his escape. Klonoa ran out of the room only to be immediately noticed by a group of people. He ran in the opposite direction and into a random room. The people were right behind him and stopped at the doorway. Klonoa looked around quickly.

This room was just like the one he had first been in. This one had a window, though. The people, though hesitant, slowly crept in the room. Klonoa, with no other choice, suddenly turned from them and jumped into the window. The glass shattered, cutting him slightly. He hadn't predicted the room to be three floors high. But sudden energy was bursting through his body. Even the long fall down didn't stop him.

The scientists watched helplessly as their experiment ran away, soon to be out of sight.

---

"Is everyone okay?"

Nikki was just rubbing her head, recovering from the sudden shock of being in a car accident. Chris was too busy looking at the mess to reply. "Oh no. My van! I don't have the insurance for this!" he wailed. The opposing car, though small, had left quite a dent to the front-most part of their van.

"We're fine," Pango said from the back, though Guntz was holding his head for the third time that night. Nikki turned to Chris. "Come on! We still gotta go," she prompted. "B-But, I can't just leave," Chris objected. "Look. He's fine. Let's go," Nikki replied quickly, pointing at a man who was now walking out of his wrecked car.

Reluctantly, Chris managed to pull his ruined van away from the car, leaving the man to stare dumbfounded after them as they drove off. It wasn't long before smoke started coming from the hood. "Nikki, this is dangerous. The van'll break down any minute," Chris warned.

They managed to get down a few more blocks before the next tremor began. They escaped any accidents this time, though, luckily. But the cars around them weren't moving again. "What's the hold up?" Nikki asked impatiently. Something was jumping across the cars ahead of them, causing them to stop short in surprise. The hopping figure was dark and hard to see, but a familiar emerald glow was with it.

"W-Wait! That's Klonoa!" Nikki suddenly yelled. "What—ow! Dammit!" Guntz was just looking out the small opening between the two front seats before Chris slammed on the brakes, jerking him forward. "I'm gonna have a big-ass bump there tomorrow," he grumbled, rubbing his head.

Nikki jumped out of the van. "Klonoa!" she called, causing the leaping figure to stop.

Before anyone could cause any trouble, they quickly had Klonoa pulled in the van and began driving again. "We thought you were a goner!" Nikki was hugging Klonoa tightly, as if he were a doll.

"_You_ thought he was a goner. We know Klonoa doesn't die that easily," Guntz corrected, suddenly brighter than he had been moments before. "But… what if they disemboweled him, laid his organs on a table, and cut them up?" Nikki asked quickly. Guntz could only blink incredulously at such an idea. "Were they really going to do that?"

Klonoa pulled himself out of Nikki's arms before the conversation could continue. "I need to get someplace high," he suddenly said. "What? Why?" Nikki asked. "I just do," he prompted vaguely.

Before long Chris pulled the van up beside a sidewalk near a tall building. Klonoa was quick to jumping out and run inside. "Wait! You don't have anything to hide yourself under!" Nikki called, but he was gone. Guntz and Pango hopped out of the back of the van and followed him.

"Nikki, I really have to go back to that accident. I could go to jail, you know," Chris said. "Oh, but," Nikki muttered. Chris suddenly grabbed her hands. "Don't worry. I'm sure you're safe with these guys. And I'll be right back," he said dramatically. Nikki blinked. "Oh… That's good. 'cause we still need your van," she replied. Chris let his head drop in disappointment. "Of course…"

Chris soon left and the group began running up the building, Klonoa far in front of them. There weren't that many people inside, probably all left from the random earthquakes. Klonoa past by them so fast that they barely even noticed him, let along tried to stop him. By the time they reached the roof everyone but Klonoa was gasping from breath. "Damn… tall buildings," Guntz wheezed.

Klonoa was scampering about the roof, holding out his ring as if it were a metal-detector. In some directions the emerald jewel would dim out, and in others it would shine brighter. "What are you doing?" Pango asked. "It's Joka. He's the one causing this, and it's going to get a lot worse," Klonoa replied without looking at them.

Guntz looked thoughtful for a moment. "Oh yeah. Should've guessed him… Wait. How do you know?" he suddenly asked accusingly. "Unless it's just an assumption." The ring had gotten its brightest in a certain direction. Klonoa turned to look at him. He hesitated. "Actually… there was something I've been meaning to tell you guys…"

He paused. "It's my fault you're here. Actually, I was supposed to come here alone." The three looked baffled and Klonoa continued. "You see… I'm called a 'Dream Traveler'. I travel across worlds and save them from certain peril. But… When I came to Lunatea I didn't leave again right away to go to another world… I thought maybe I was done being a Dream Traveler.

"But then the problem with Nahatomb happened and I was supposed to leave again. I guess you guys accidentally came with me because you touched my ring just as I was leaving… Maybe Joka did, too, somehow… Though Lunatea wasn't the first place I met him…"

"Wait a minute," Guntz suddenly interrupted. "So you're telling us you're seriously some kind of hero that goes around saving random worlds that have some random problem?" It sounded so outrageous when he said it, but Klonoa nodded anyway. "That's stupid. I don't believe you," Guntz said decisively.

Klonoa looked slightly hurt with a mix of disappointment. He let out a light sigh. "I didn't think you would," he murmured quietly, holding out his ring to the side. The emerald jewel shone brightly and a string of light suddenly beamed out of it. It went as far as the eye could see. "That's where Joka is," Klonoa said, suddenly taking on a melancholy tone.

---

It was way past midnight by now. Who knew when dawn would come? The long walk to where Joka was apparently hiding was ominously quiet. Despite not seeing the line of light anymore, Klonoa seemed to know exactly where he was going. They trekked through dark alleyways to avoid being seen.

Currently, Pango and Guntz were bickering in the back. They spoke in whispers, but it was still clearly heard. "I just think maybe you should reconsider," Pango said thoughtfully. "Reconsider what? That all this time he's been some kind of legendary hero who goes around saving worlds?" Guntz snapped.

"Maybe he's really telling the truth," Pango suggested, though he sounded uncertain. "Do you really think _he_ could possibly do something like that?" Guntz asked, pointing in Klonoa's direction. Pango could only sigh helplessly in reply. Nikki let out a wide yawn, making Klonoa turned around.

"I'm sorry. You don't have to come with us if you don't want to," he said. Nikki twitched. "Hmm? Oh, it's nothing. I'm just tired," she assured. "You've been helping us a lot. I'm really grateful. The last thing I want to do is cause you trouble," Klonoa said. Nikki smiled. "Well, if you're really here to save my world, then the least I can do is help, right?" she asked.

Klonoa paused, before smiling back. He looked like he was about to say more, probably "thanks," but the sound of quick, heavy footsteps cut him off. Before they could react several heavily armored men had surrounded them in the alleyway on both sides. They were all too familiar.

The group back together, looking on both sides cautiously. "Dammit. How to these guys keep finding us?" Guntz muttered in a low growl. A certain man stood out from the crowd, taking a step toward Nikki and Klonoa. He was also familiar. "Step aside, girl. We have a right to take these things down," the man ordered.

"Down?" Nikki couldn't help but echo. Were they actually going to try and _kill_ them now? "These things are obviously the cause of all these earthquakes. And they're too wild to be kept in captivity," the man replied. He made his pistol visible. Klonoa twitched and Nikki immediately took a step in front of him, not sure herself exactly what she was doing.

"You can't just kill them! They're here to help us," she protested. "To help us what? Destroy the world?" the man mocked. Nikki gritted her teeth, honestly not sure how to explain this to them. She didn't even completely understand it herself. The man held up his gun, pointing it at Nikki. "I have a right to shoot you if you get in our way."

Nikki wasn't sure if he was telling the truth or not, but she found herself completely frozen staring at a gun pointed at her face. "Move!" the man ordered loudly. As if on cue, a second later another tremor started up. The man lost his balance, losing proper grip of the pistol and accidentally firing it.

"Nikki!"

Whether Nikki had tripped from the earthquake or not didn't matter. She never received the bullet. When she finally opened her eyes after flinching, she saw that something had gotten in the way, acting as a shield between her and the man. It was Klonoa, his arms spread out wide protectively. He staggered slightly for a second, before suddenly falling back in Nikki's arms.

He had thrown himself in front of her just in time to take the blow instead of her. Nikki's ears seemed to stop working as she held Klonoa's limp body in her arms. She didn't hear Guntz yelling his name or Pango ordering everyone to move back. All she heard was the light hissing sound of some kind of gas being emitted, as pink colored smoke filled the area. Something grabbed her and pulled her away, Klonoa still tightly in her arms.

Somehow, Nikki was too preoccupied to think how, they had managed to make it to a roof of a building while the armored men were confused by the sudden smokescreen. Nikki was on her knees, looking down helplessly at the wounded Klonoa. Guntz was pacing around in aggravation.

"It's just one thing after another with you!" he suddenly snapped. Klonoa looked at him weakly. "I'm sorry," he murmured softly. Guntz twitched, looking away. Klonoa's breathing was labored and came in short gasps. Nikki could tell he was struggling to keep conscious.

She didn't know what to do. Her thoughts whirled in her head. She _should _know what to do, though. Nikki had wanted to become a doctor once upon a time. But this was typical. She always lost sight of her objective and panicked at the sight of blood. But her test way back when hadn't nearly been as severe as this. This time someone really _was_ dying.

"I don't… want to be a burden to you… Nikki," Klonoa gasped, looking up at her. Nikki flinched at his once bright but now exhausted expression. "Shut up! Save your energy," Guntz snapped. He was flustered, but obviously very concerned. "But what can we do?" Pango asked helplessly. This world was unknown to them. They didn't even know if this place _had_ hospitals, let alone if they'd be taken care of.

Nikki's eyes were growing watery with frustration. This was just like last time!

"_Madison, these are lives you will be dealing with. You have to be able to stay focused and calm," spoke a steady, professional voice._

"_I can do it! Just give me another chance!"_

"_I'm sorry, but I can't be willing to put lives at risk while you get used to treating them properly." There was a pause. "Maybe next year."_

Nikki had failed at becoming a doctor miserably. After that she'd convinced herself that it was no use to keep trying. Perhaps that was a good idea, for her knack to panic in such tight situations clearly hadn't gone away. She trembled, trying desperately to recall the procedures that should be carried out in severe circumstances. She closed her eye tightly, concentrating as best she could.

This wasn't a test. This was real!

"_First, you apply pressure to the wound. Try to stop the bleeding as best you can."_

Her teacher's words flashed in her mind. She snapped her eyes opened and immediately pressed her palms against Klonoa's abdominal area, where the bullet had struck. He winced sharply.

"_Keep the patient awake. They have a better chance of surviving if they're conscious. Keep this up until help arrives."_

Nikki blinked. There was no point is waiting for help that was never going to come. Guntz and Pango looked at her in surprise when she suddenly stood up. It was a risk, but there was only one place they could go to save him.

* * *

I ish teh uber Klonoa abuser! …Yeah… honestly I had planned this scene before the whole fire issue and whatnot… I have a bad habit of beating on Klonoa. Hopefully this will be the end of his torture. -.-;; 

…Jeez… I have no idea where I'm going with this anymore. Hopefully it'll be finished soon. But I'm still unmotivated and suffering from writer's block… -sigh- Hopefully I'll get over it sooner or later.


	15. Chapter 14: Muck Monster

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any Klonoa characters… The others are mine, though.

* * *

**Chapter 14: Muck Monster**

How they had actually managed to convince the doctors at the nearest hospital to take care of Klonoa, Nikki couldn't remember. Perhaps it was from her screaming in their faces that he'd die if they didn't. Maybe their medical instincts were triggered, making them unable to turn down a patient, even if it was a strange creature such as Klonoa.

Nikki had always been uncomfortable around doctors, ridden with jealously of their success. But right now she really didn't care. At the moment she, Pango, and Guntz were sitting in the waiting room… waiting. She was honestly surprised no one had kicked them out or called the police on them.

Or perhaps they had, but the police couldn't get here due to the still occurring tremors. Either way, they were safe for now. No one dared come near them. Anyone who did received quite a nasty glare from Guntz and would back off immediately. The few children around were obviously the only ones not intimidated by the group.

Luckily, as was in all hospitals, this building ran on a generator. That way, during the short power-outages due to the earthquakes, the lights would soon come back on. Though there was a second or two of darkness, during which Nikki couldn't help but suspect someone would do something to them. Things had been happening so fast lately.

It was dawn now, and Nikki was finding it hard to keep her head up. Only a rather large tremor woke her up from semi-unconsciousness. The earthquakes had only been slowly getting bigger since they started. The lights went out, soon to be replaced by slightly dimmer lights. There was a commotion going on outside.

Natural instinct forced Guntz and Pango, along with a few other people, to get up and see what was going on. Nikki didn't react fast enough to tell them that it was probably better if they just stayed inside. Reluctantly, she followed them.

People outside were abandoning their cars and running in a certain direction down the road, panic on their faces. A few screamed, pointing behind them. Another tremor erupted just before the group could follow their frantic gazes. This one was strong enough to cause most of them to fall over.

A loud laugh echoed from somewhere high above. "I'm ba-ack!" a familiar voice chirped. "Joka!" Guntz growled, looking in the direction of the voice. It goes without saying that no one expected to see the round clown standing on top of a giant monster. It was incredibly tall, standing above even the highest skyscraper.

Joka laughed, apparently somehow seeing their incredulous faces from so high up. "I told you you weren't through with me! I'm just getting started!" he exclaimed. The beast took a step with one of its thick, short legs, causing the whole city to tremble violently. "Ladies and gentlemen!" Joka then spread out his armless hands above his head.

"I bring you my new muck monster! Here to destroy you all and your pathetic, litter-ful lives! I couldn't have done it without your help." He bowed in mock-modesty. At first glance the beast Joka stood upon looked like a poorly shaped, tall blob with multi-colored ridges. But, upon further inspection, they could see that the beast was actually covered in a coating of garbage. From paper, to soda cans, to old cars; it had every kind of junk on it that one could name. Perhaps the whole beast itself was made of trash.

A green slime oozed out of its body here and there. A strange, visible stench was arising from it. Before long it had the whole area around them misted with the smelly substance. People coughed, holding their noses, as others panicked and ran. "What the hell is his stuff?" Guntz asked. "It smells like garbage," Pango murmured through a covered nose. "It's making me dizzy," Nikki mumbled. Joka laughed again. "You like? My little pet here took a bath in the sewages just before coming here," he joked, patting the top of the beast's head.

"This is the result of all the trash in this dirty city coming together as one big heap of rubbish! Took me all day, but it was worth it to see you guys squirm. These people have caused their own demise by carelessly tossing trash anywhere they want. Now they'll finally get what they deserve!" Joka exclaimed enthusiastically.

The people amongst the ground were collapsing one by one. The toxic aroma was too much for them. "Dammit. Joka wasn't joking when he said he was going to destroy this whole city," Guntz growled, struggling to resist the stench that was much stronger in his nose. "At this rate, this whole city with suffocate," Pango said.

Nikki's knees were buckling underneath her and soon gave out completely. "Nikki!" Pango exclaimed, but she was out like a light, along with pretty much everyone else around them. "So that's your plan, Joka? You just want to suffocate everyone?!" Guntz called. "Oh, no. Why would I stop there? I said I was going to _destroy_ this city, didn't I? And naturally I expect some challenge from you guys," Joka smirked.

"By the way, where is the short, floppy-eared one? He's going to miss my darling junk monster's performance. This is the _real_ grand finale!" he cheered, raising his hands. The beast took an unsteady step forward, causing the road to shake underneath it. Guntz lost his balance, leaning on a knee. He suddenly found that he didn't have the energy to get back up.

"Are you okay?" Pango asked, stepping beside him. "It's getting a little hard to breathe," Guntz replied, trying his best to make it sound like it was no big deal. "Then let's finish this quickly." Pango took out one of his bombs, preparing to swiftly light it. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," Joka chuckled. Pango paused.

"I can just imagine what would happen if you lit that with that these flammable toxic fumes," Joka explained. "He's right," Guntz agreed reluctantly. "It could cause a huge explosion… My guns probably would, too." Joka laughed. "Well, I guess you are your weapon. And when your weapon is useless, so are you." Guntz growled bitterly.

---

Klonoa couldn't tell what was going on. He felt like he was back in that laboratory, with something blowing air in his mouth and the stench of chemicals in the air. But he wasn't lying on a cold table, nor were sharp things poking into his skin. And there were no voices.

Expect for one, but this was a good voice. A dim emerald glow shone in Klonoa's mind, a familiar, incomprehensible, soft voice coming from it. It spoke of what was going on and that he had to wake up immediately. Klonoa tried, but a terrible pain in his abdomen shot through his body the moment he moved. He gritted his teeth tightly. _I can't... move._

The same emerald glow then encased over his entire body. Like a gust of cold wind, Klonoa felt his energy coming back to him. The pain slowly dissipated. He snapped his eyes open.

---

"Well, I might as well start the show, since you guys are ready to drop," Joka announced. Guntz and Pango watched helplessly as the round clown lifted his left hand. As if knowing without actually looking at him, the monster lifted its own hand. It prepared to slam it into the nearest building, the impact probably enough to destroy the whole thing, along with the people inside.

But a green beam a light shot from seemingly nowhere a second before the monster could strike, blasting its whole arm apart. The beast shrieked in surprised and possibly pain. "What the hell was that?!" Joka spat. A glow of the same color then shone over Pango and Guntz' bodies. Guntz twitched his ears, suddenly standing up with newfound energy.

"I can breathe just fine now," he muttered incredulously. "Me, too," Pango agreed slowly. The glow soon dimmed out, but the air to them was still as clear as ever. "What's the meaning of this?!" Joka snapped. "You shouldn't cheat, Joka, or you'll get caught." Guntz and Pango looked over their shoulders, baffled to see Klonoa standing just behind them.

Joka smirked. "Ah, but cheating is what I do, shorty. I'm sure glad you showed up. I was starting to get bored." Klonoa frowned seriously. "Good, 'cause I'm just getting started." Joka pretended to shiver. "Ooh, how scary!" he laughed. Klonoa took a step in front of the others, who were still too dumbfounded to speak. He looked back at them.

"The ring purified your weapons. You can use them now," he said in a plain tone. Guntz twitched. "What?" Klonoa waved his ring slightly, as if that would help comprehend it. "Just trust me," he said simply, facing forward again. "These people won't last too long like this. We can't waste time." He suddenly sounded unusually mature and serious, and Pango and Guntz had to exchange glances quickly.

"Wonderful! Let's do this!" Joka cheered. The junk monster suddenly went down on all fours and ran toward them with surprising speed. The ground quickly separated to dodge before it could crush them. Every step it took made a short tremor, along with a pile of garbage behind it.

Pango then lit the bomb he had before and tossed it at the beast. It exploded at its shoulder, making it screech and fall to the side. Joka made a mighty leap off its head, landing atop a tall building. "Quite fooling around!" he scolded, as the beast struggled to stand up.

Its dislocated shoulder began to regenerate itself, the junk moving on its own to attach itself correctly back onto the monster. It stood up again, as if it had never been struck at all. It reared up and let out a roar as Guntz fired at its back. It twisted around to look at him, suddenly throwing its arm in his direction. Guntz barely dodged as a glob of garbage was thrown at him.

"This thing is invisible," he growled lowly. Klonoa had inflated a piece of garbage with his ring and was just shooting it at the monster. It automatically stuck, the enlarged trash soon to be absorbed inside its body. "What the hell good is that gonna do?!" Guntz snapped. But Klonoa ignored him.

The beast prepared to strike at them, when it suddenly jerked in surprise. The area the inflated garbage had been absorbed into exploded, causing trash to go flying through the air. The beast fell again. "What was that?!" Joka exclaimed. Klonoa wasted no time repeating his act. He inflated pieces of garbage and tossed them at the monster one by one. The beast was unable to reject what was itself, and automatically absorbed them.

All at once the pieces of trash exploded, soon making the monster nothing but scattered piles of garbage. There was a moment's paused before Klonoa looked up at Joka. "That's it, Joka. You're finished," he said. Joka seemed shocked at first, but then suddenly smirked. "You think I'm that easy to beat?"

The heaps of rubbish then started to move, slowly crawling together, creating larger piles of moving garbage. They began creating arms and legs with their bodies. Before long there were several miniature versions of the huge junk monster. "Dammit. There's no way to beat this thing," Guntz muttered. "Now what?" Pango asked, suddenly beside them.

The smaller junk monsters surrounded the ground, slowly narrowing in on them. Guntz quickly shot at them as Pango threw his bombs. The monsters were easily defeated, but when one was destroyed, two more took its place. "This is impossible!" Pango exclaimed.

Klonoa looked up at where Joka was. The round clown was waving his hands around gleefully. Klonoa paused thoughtfully, before motioning toward Guntz. "Guntz, shoot at Joka," he said. Guntz looked up at the blissful clown. "My pleasure," he grimaced, shooting upward. Joka twitched, managing to dodge just in time. "What the—?!"

The junk monster's suddenly stopped in their advancement, looking a bit confused. "Oh! I see. These things are being controlled by Joka," Pango realized, looking up. "Then we just have to beat Joka," Guntz replied, smirking. All at once the group prepared their attacks. Klonoa shot a heap of garbage, as Guntz shot his guns, and Pango threw a bomb with his strong arm.

Joka gave a scream of surprise, running off as the attacks sped toward him with amazing speed. The combined explosions sent him flying, but he managed to regain his balance and land on his feet. "Th-That's cheating!" he stammered. "You can only beat a cheater by cheating," Guntz sneered.

"You'll pay for that! Get them, my rubbish minions!" Joka commanded, lifting his hands. The garbage monsters then straightened, looking back toward the group and closing in on them again. "We can't beat Joka from way down here," Pango admitted. "Then let's bring him to us," Guntz said. He fired his guns at Joka again. This time, the clown dodged without putting his hands down. "Not this time!"

The junk monsters then leapt at the group, latching themselves onto their bodies. The three struggled to detach the moving heaps of trash off of them. "Quit struggling! You're outnumbered, you don't stand a chance!" Joka laughed loudly. Klonoa's ring then started glowing, with it the group's bodies. The garbage monsters were suddenly thrown off of them.

Joka clenched a fist. "It's not that easy." As expected, the trash beasts soon gathered themselves together and stood up again. "How can we beat him?" Pango asked quietly. Klonoa looked down at his glowing ring, as if it were speaking to him. "That's it!" he suddenly yelled. Pango and Guntz looked at him quickly.

"One of these monsters has a core that's keeping the others alive. If we can destroy it , then all the monsters will die," Klonoa explained. "What? How do you—" Klonoa cut Guntz off. "Just trust me!" he snapped, catching the two off guard. "Well… it's easy for you to say. But these things keep making more as soon as we beat them," Guntz said, looking away.

"Then we have to be quick," Klonoa replied simply.

* * *

Yay! Almost done. The next chapter should be the last. Then I can start on another! -gigglesnort- 


	16. Chapter 15: Happy Ending?

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any Klonoa characters… The others are mine, though.

* * *

**Chapter 15: Happy Ending?  
**

The miniature garbage monsters slowly advanced on the group of three. Joka laughed loudly from atop a tall building. "Keep trying. You'll never win!" he yelled blissfully. "Are you sure about this?" Guntz asked as the three faced the enclosing monsters, their backs together. "Yes," Klonoa replied blandly.

"Then let's be quick," Pango said, suddenly throwing several bombs at the trash monsters in front of him. "Destroying the monster itself isn't enough. We have to find the core," Klonoa explained. "And what the hell does this 'core' look like?" Guntz asked as he fired at the beasts in his direction. Klonoa didn't reply, probably not knowing the answer himself.

Joka waved his hands, controlling the rubbish creatures as they leapt at the group. The monsters could honestly do nothing more than attach themselves to their bodies, immobilizing them. But if too many got on them, they could be trapped and suffocate under the pile of trash.

Klonoa enlarged a piece of rubbish with his ring and tossed it at the group of monsters. It exploded, sending them flying in pieces. He quickly ran through the debris, looking for something that might seem off in the heaps of garbage. The monsters were quick to regenerate themselves, though, suddenly becoming twice as many as there were before.

The group struggled to keep track of which monsters they had already destroyed and which were newly reproduced. They had to find a core that was keeping the mop of rubbish creatures alive. Supposedly, if they destroyed the core, all the monsters would die.

But, with so many garbage monsters being constantly reproduced and multiplied with every one they killed, it seemed all but impossible to find the one that had the core. "How unlucky. None of these things has the core," Pango muttered. "They just can't make it easy for us, huh?" Guntz snorted.

Joka was still laughing from way up high. "Can't you guys take a hint? You'll die from exhaustion at this rate!" he exclaimed. "He's right. We can't keep this up for much longer," Pango reluctantly agreed. "It has to be here somewhere," Klonoa muttered. He suddenly ran through the crowd of junk beasts. At the end of his ring came a sword-like formation of green energy.

Klonoa swiped at the creatures as he past them, aiming more for the ones toward the back. Pango and Guntz watched him for a moment. "Dammit. Come on," Guntz then grimaced, gritting his teeth. Pango nodded and the two ran off in different directions. It was most likely that the ones they hadn't killed would be toward the back of the never-ending crowd.

Klonoa didn't stop, resisting to catch the breath he so desperately needed. He couldn't stop. These unconscious people weren't going to hold their breaths while he rested. He was the Dream Traveler. This was his job, his meaning of existence. He had to do this. Or else… or else all these people would suffocate!

Klonoa was just slashing his sword through a muck monster that was a little ways off from the others when something finally caught his eye. Out of the creature came a small, shiny object. Klonoa managed to catch it in his hand, amongst other yucky things. It looked like a tiny red pearl. It was sparkling clean, despite being inside all that trash.

Klonoa prayed that it wasn't just an ordinary marble as he laid it on the ground and slammed his ring into it. The small ball soon cracked and shattered into hundreds of tiny fragments. The trash monster suddenly froze, as if in shock. Pango and Guntz stopped what they were doing, confused. Then, without warning, all the little beast suddenly exploded. Garbage went flying in every direction.

"No!" Joka shrieked in dismay. Klonoa didn't move, finally catching his breath, letting out a sigh of relief. "That was unpleasant," Guntz grimaced, throwing a half-eaten slice of pizza off his nose. Pango simply smiled happily. From atop the building Joka was clenching his hands tightly. "No… I won't lose again. Not this time!"

The round clown's body then began glowing. Before anyone could even notice, he started changing form. Only when he let out a loud roar did everyone finally look up. "What now?!" Guntz asked incredulously. Joka's new, huge body cast a large shadow over the three. "I'm not going to give up that easily this time," a deep voice that somewhat resembled Joka's spoke.

The former clown now looked like a huge, flying turtle-like beast. Spikes jutted from his round shell of a back. He had what looked like flippers for arms and legs, but they had a sharp blade on one side. He still had the same grinning face and black eyes. "I'm sick of losing to you!" he roared. Without warning, he suddenly dove down towards the street between the buildings.

Klonoa didn't move as the huge turtle aimed straight for him. Joka made a sharp turn upward once only feet from touching the ground and flew back up. He moved his long tail in front of his face, on which Klonoa had voluntarily grabbed. "I'm finally going to get rid of you, you little pest," Joka growled. He lifted a razor sharp flipper threateningly.

"Wait," Klonoa said calmly. Joka paused. "I need to ask you a question." The former clown seemed to grin in amusement. "Why not? It'll be the last question you ever ask," he sneered. "I need to know how you keep traveling across worlds, like me. Are you using my power? Is that why you keep following me?" Klonoa asked in a completely straight voice.

Joka suddenly laughed, making Klonoa blink in confusion. "Oh no, of course not! Why would I use _your_ pathetic powers? I use my own magic to get me around. That's how strong I am, see? I'm just attracted to places where chaos is running amuck. But I guess you are, too, huh?"

Klonoa had to looked away to slowly comprehend this. If he was telling the truth, then that would explain why they'd met up all those other times. He hadn't bothered to think much of it until now. "Come to think of it, we've been through a lot together, haven't we?" Joka began, amusement in his voice.

"It'll be a shame when I kill you!" The turtle-like monster lifted both his bladed fins and struck them together, intending on cutting his prey in half. But Klonoa was faster. He jumped up just before the blades struck and held out his ring. Joka twitched, seeing the he had long prepared a heap of garbage inflated onto the ring.

Klonoa shot the ring, sending the trash flying downwards and splattering onto Joka's shell. The clown monster writhed helplessly. "Gah! Get it off!" The rubbish then exploded in a blast of emerald light, jerking Joka sharply and sending him falling downward out of control. He poofed back to his original form just before landing on the dirty road.

"Ooh! You'll pay for this! You haven't seen the last of me!" the clown yelled angrily. "Oh no you don't." Guntz tried to shoot Joka before he did anything else, but it was too late. With a snap of his fingers, he disappeared in an almost comical puff of smoke. Joka's words flashed in Klonoa's mind.

No. This wouldn't be the last time he saw Joka. That was almost assured. So long as he, the Dream Traveler, continued to travel to unknown worlds in corruption, he'd surely meet plenty of new and old enemies. And he'd have to face them. By himself. All alone...

Klonoa suddenly felt himself landing in someone's arms. "There we are," Pango said, smiling. So lost in his thoughts, Klonoa hadn't even realized that he'd started falling after firing at Joka. The long fall might've been enough to kill him. Pango gently let Klonoa down to the ground. "Jeez. That clown just doesn't know how to die, huh?" Guntz sighed. "At least he's gone now. And this world is safe," Pango remarked.

As if on cue, the people around them began to stir, finally waking up from their toxic comas. A few noticed the three strange creatures first, staring baffled, while others first saw the heaps of garbage everywhere, letting out exclamations of disgust. "You guys!" The three looked over to see Nikki running toward them.

"What happened?" she asked breathlessly, glancing around the junk-ridden city. "It's a long story. But now your planet is safe from harm," Pango replied. Nikki paused. "That's, uh… great. But… don't you think you guys could've saved the world a little cleaner?" Guntz snorted. "Don't be picky! We could've left you guys to die."

"Nikki!" A yell interrupted them as Nikki opened her mouth to let out a sharp retort. She looked behind her to see Chris running over. "Are you—" Before he could finish his sentence, a stepped directly on a banana peel, the squishy remains sending him sliding forward like a classical cartoon character. He slammed into Nikki, causing the both to fall over.

"That was slightly amusing," Guntz muttered as Pango simply grinned. Klonoa wasn't paying attention, looking off into the distance, lost in his thoughts. He didn't even notice the two hands reaching behind him until they suddenly pinched his cheeks. "Would you smile?!" growled an irritated voice. Klonoa quickly pulled away, spinning around. "W-What?" he stammered with a start.

"You've been moping around since yesterday. We won. Isn't this the time when you go all happy-go-lucky?" Guntz asked, almost looking as if he were scolding him. Klonoa gave him a surprised look and he sharply tuned away. "Whatever, I don't care," he said quickly. Klonoa paused thoughtfully, blinking, before making the usual smile he'd almost forgotten he had.

But a shine below him made him frown again. It was his ring. It was time to go. "What does that mean?" Pango's voice startled Klonoa. He looked up to see the two staring at him expectantly. He hesitated. As far as he knew, they'd yet to believe him being a Dream Traveler. Should he even bother? "It means… we have to leave now," he replied slowly anyway.

"What? Already?!" Nikki stood up quickly, nearly knocking Chris over. "Well, I can't wait to get back. This planet makes me sick." Guntz glanced around the dirty buildings. "Even more now," he snorted. "And I miss my son. I hope he's all right," Pango said thoughtfully.

Nikki paused, before letting out a loud sigh. "I guess you're right. You guys belong on your own planet." She sounded disappointed. Klonoa smiled. "We couldn't have done this without you, Nikki. We're really grateful," he said. Nikki scratched her head, embarrassed. "O-oh. Don't mention it, really. You're the ones I should thank."

Guntz turned to Klonoa. "Hey, we are going home, right?" he asked suspiciously. Klonoa couldn't look him in the eye. "Yes… we should." He couldn't help but hesitate slightly. He wasn't sure if that was entirely true. But he certainly hoped at least Pango and Guntz would go back home. Him, though…

A familiar emerald glow started appearing around Klonoa's body. "Here," he said a bit quickly, holding out his ring. The last thing he wanted to do was accidentally leave the two here. They hesitated for a second, before placing their hands around the oversized ring. Soon their bodies began glowing, as well.

The people around them were staring in awe, too dumbstruck to do or say anything. Nikki and Chris stood together, watching. "I hope we can see each other again sometime," Nikki said. "I don't," Guntz was quick to reply. Nikki pouted at that. "I hope the mess we made here won't be too much of a problem," Pango remarked.

Nikki waved her hand dismissively. "Bah. This place was a waste, anyway. It could do with a good cleanup," she said simply. "But the smell will be terrible," Chris muttered to the side. The glow of the ring was getting brighter. "Well, goodbye," Klonoa concluded, before the light could become blindingly bright. Nikki had to flinch, and when the light faded, they were gone.

She stared up at the dawn sky. "Goodbye," she muttered. There was a long moment's silence before a raspy meow by her feet made her look down suddenly. A scrawny, dirty black and white cat was padding over to her. It made another mew before rubbing itself on her leg.

Nikki's first expected reaction would've been to grimace, but instead she bent down and picked up the little thing under its elbows. She held it up to her face. The cat didn't struggle, staring back at her with big yellow eyes. Suddenly Nikki felt like Klonoa hadn't left at all.

"Hmm? I thought you didn't like animals, Nikki," Chris said when he saw her holding the cat close to her. Nikki only grunted thoughtfully, looking up again. "Maybe I can't become a doctor, but… instead…" She looked at Chris, a big smile n her face. "I want to become a vet!"

---

Deep in space, departing Earth's atmosphere and leaving it and its neighboring planets behind, shone a bright emerald light. It flashed past star at lightning speed, leaving a fading dim green trail behind it. It was just passing a familiar, rather small, but lush planet when it split into three. Two of the new lights veered away from one, which stayed on track.

_Thank goodness,_ Klonoa thought, able to stay conscious during the transport due to much experience. He watched as the two beams, his two friends, returned to their home planet. He more than anything wished to follow them. But it wasn't his choice. He looked away. At least they could go back to their homes where they belonged.

But, while Klonoa didn't belong anywhere, he also belonged everywhere. He belonged wherever there was a planet in need. It was his duty; his purpose in life. While it offered much joy to help others find peace, it also provided many sacrifices. Klonoa blinked sodden eyes, not looking back as he flew toward his next destination.

* * *

Aw, not so much of a happy ending for Klonoa. But now Nikki's got a new ambition, and Joka's still at large. But that clown never dies, anyway...

There probably would've been so much more to this story hadn't I gotten so much writer's block. It kind of started going in its own direction after a while... Oh well. I guess I'm pretty happy with it. And now... I get to start another one! -does a happydance- This one will really be testing out my skills. So look out for it!

Well... that's all. Bye-bye for now!


End file.
